Grace Millane: the Tinder date reconstructed in court

An evening documented in ordinary details

Millane was a British university graduate on an overseas trip. She had visited Chile and Peru before New Zealand. Her date in Auckland took place on the eve of her 22nd birthday.

The Supreme Court’s account records a Tinder match on November 30 and a meeting around 5:45 p.m. the next day. CCTV, purchases at bars and messages to friends established much of their evening before they entered the building containing Kempson’s apartment.

Sources: ITV News — conviction background and life sentence · Supreme Court of New Zealand — Kempson v R [2021] NZSC 74 (PDF)

What the evidence established

The court placed Millane’s death between late December 1 and the early hours of December 2. Kempson killed her in his apartment. His explanations to police changed, and the later judgment described evidence that undermined his claim of an accident.

ITV reported another striking detail from the case: Kempson went on a further date while Millane’s body remained in his room. The public appearance of an ordinary social life continued after he had killed her.

Sources: Supreme Court of New Zealand — Kempson v R [2021] NZSC 74 (PDF) · ITV News — Kempson identified and the family’s statement

The verdict, sentence and appeal

A jury found Kempson guilty of murder in November 2019. In February 2020 he received a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years. The minimum term is not a fixed release date.

The Court of Appeal rejected his challenge to the conviction and sentence. On June 29, 2021, the Supreme Court dismissed his application for leave to appeal the conviction. These are documented court outcomes, rather than allegations from the initial missing-person investigation.

Sources: ITV News — conviction background and life sentence · Supreme Court of New Zealand — Kempson v R [2021] NZSC 74 (PDF)

Remembering the person behind the case

In a family statement reported by ITV, Millane was remembered for her generosity, love of travel and sense of adventure. Those details belong in her story alongside the criminal proceedings. The responsibility for her death rests with the man who murdered her.

Our takeaway for readers: evidence that an account belongs to a real person cannot tell you how that person will behave. This case does not establish that a phone lookup or photo search would have prevented the crime. Keep that limit in mind when reading any claim about a verification tool.

Sources: ITV News — Kempson identified and the family’s statement

Explore the checks

Learn what phone and photo searches can return, and how to interpret the findings.