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Backpacker murder suspect wheeled 'body out of hotel in suitcase'

CCTV footage showed to jurors in the Grace Millane murder trial shows the moment the man accused of killing her allegedly wheeled her body out of a hotel in a suitcase.

The 27-year-old-suspect, who has not been named because of a suppression order, is allegedly shown smuggling the body of the British backpacker out of the CityLife hotel in Auckland, New Zealand, hours after he “strangled her to death”.

He was said to have wheeled a trolley into the lift at the hotel and taking it to his room before returning with two suitcases - one of which he has now admitted contained the body of Ms Millane.

Footage showing the man’s subsequent interview with police showed the accused tell detectives that the bag remained in his room.

CCTV footage of blurred image of murder accused in a hotel lift with a suitcase which Grace Millane's body was inside.
The man accused of killing Grace Millane is seen taking suitcases into a lift.

But the trial heard how he had used the suitcase to take Ms Millane’s body to nearby dense woodland, where he allegedly buried it in a shallow grave.

Ms Millane, from Wickford, Essex, went on date with the man she met on the dating site Tinder in Auckland on December 1, 2018.

The Crown has alleged that the defendant strangled her and shoved her body inside a suitcase before burying her in a forested area outside Auckland.

The defence claims the death, on either December 1 or December 2, 2018, the date of Ms Millane's 22nd birthday, was accidental and occurred during rough sexual intercourse.

Forensic experts told Auckland High Court on Friday that there was evidence Ms Millane's blood had been cleaned up, which the defendant told police he had done.

Murder victim Grace Millane on her graduation day.
British backpacker Grace Millane was found stuffed inside a suitcase in a shallow grave. Source: PA

DNA expert Turlough Thomas-Stone said "no male DNA was detected" in samples taken from the woman's fingernails and from the suitcase in which her body was found.

But he added that "damp, moisture, exposure to the elements" can make it harder to identify DNA samples taken from gravesites.

"Given the time between the alleged event and the taking of these samples, that could be a potential explanation (for the absence of male DNA)," he added.

Toxicologist Diana Kappatos said testing showed no illicit or prescribed drugs and the presence of 106 milligrams (mg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres (ml) of blood in the deceased's body, double the legal limit for drivers in New Zealand.

Blurred CCTV footage of Grace Millane murder accused pushing a luggage trolley through a hotel lobby.
The accused was later seen wheeling suitcases out of the lift and through the hotel lobby.

But Ms Kappatos said that microbial action after death may have increased or decreased the concentration of alcohol in Ms Millane's body.

Security footage of the young woman and the defendant as they drank at various bars throughout the city was last week shown to jurors.

Security footage showed the pair kiss repeatedly at the Bluestone Room before walking arm-in-arm a short distance into the lobby of the CityHigh hotel where the defendant was staying.

Ms Millane was shown to follow the defendant out of the lift at 9.41pm.

It was the last time she was seen alive.

Grace Millane. Source: PA
Grace Millane was killed on her 22nd birthday. Source: PA

The court heard that data from the man's phone showed he had used Google to browse websites for large duffel bags, suitcases and car hire.

The defendant's phone was also used to search for "flesh-eating birds" and "are there vultures in New Zealand?" days later, on December 5, 2018.

Records showed the defendant had searched online for "the hottest fire", "large bags near me" and "Waitakere Ranges" - where Ms Millane's body was later found contorted inside a suitcase on December 9, 2018 - before going on another Tinder date later that day.

The trial, which is expected to last for another four weeks, continues.

–– Yahoo News UK

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