Found Deceased NEW ZEALAND - Grace Millane, 22, British backpacker, Auckland, 1 Dec 2018 *Arrest*

[mrjitty]

Would she have needed to carry her passport with her as proof of her age to get admission to the bars or casinos?

Short answer yes.

 

[All & Forward]

Hi everyone,

It’s my first time posting here. I’ve been very invested in this story as I myself am in my mid-20’s and travel solo regularly.

Unfortunately when this story first came out I knew she was dead immediately. There are very few first-time solo travellers that will go to the other side of the world and do something spontaneous for a few days to celebrate their birthday when they’ve just arrived in a new city. With a hostel full of people to meet there’s no way you’d choose to spend such an important day with a Tinder date you barely know.

Here is my theory about what happened:

I think that she may have mentioned to the accused that her birthday was coming up and he offered to take her for a few drinks to celebrate. She might have agreed with the view that she could get a bit tipsy and then go out partying with people from the hostel later on in the evening, possibly bringing him along if things went well. Considering they were only together for two hours before they went to his room, I don’t think she agreed to do something sexual in such a short time. If he did indeed have a room there he may have indicated he was going upstairs to retrieve something and invited her up so she didn’t have to wait alone downstairs. With her guard down a little from a few drinks, she might have agreed and go up to his room but with no intentions other than to chat with him whilst he retrieved an item/got changed.4

Gidday.

I thought this before but never posted it... yeah, why go on a Tinder date on your birthday? The only reason you'd generally resort to that is if your hostel's quiet. Sometimes you walk into a backpacker's and there's barely anyone but reception there. But this is Auckland CBD – not a country town – in the absolute prime period for backpackers (they can spend summer in Australia going to festivals, Byron Bay, Sydney for a massive New Year's, then up north in Queensland, over to Fremantle). She also literally told her parents it was a 'party hostel.' A pretty enough, friendly young girl mentions it's her 22nd, on a Saturday... people are keen. It's a great excuse to head to a common room and it's a good way for everyone to focus in on one person and to have a specific sort of goal to the night.

I just don't get it.

Obviously it's pointless getting bogged down in semantics and mostly irrelevant details, but she met him at 7pm. The weather wasn't amazing (21 degrees) but people in hostels still get on the piss early. If she wanted to fill her arvo in and do something and get on it earlier, she would've met him at 4 and gone to the hostel at 7.

Regardless, yeah, I don't believe it was a date rape drug but certainly think it's been an innocuous (to her) suggestion of 'ah *advertiser censored*, my phone's dead. I live nearby. So do you wanna come or meet later?' Maybe he was genuinely intending to do this and something's happened. Or maybe he wanted to lure her in. We don't know. But yeah, I think she's gone 'ah, yeah, sure.' If the guy from tinder is a nice enough bloke, he has to charge his phone, and he says he's got a few beers in the fridge then a lapse in judgement isn't a massive surprise.

Would she have needed to carry her passport with her as proof of her age to get admission to the bars or casinos?

I worked in a bottle shop and at a bar in Australia. Yeah, you need your passport basically. Heaps of places are uptight about only accepting passports from internationals – if it isn't an Australian proof of age or driver's licence, they won't sell you grog. I'd say it's almost exactly the same in New Zealand. Most of our bottle shops are owned by two massive companies, we don't really have offies here.

 

[Plunky]

THEORY: Per expedia, the CityLife has many amenities including a restaurant and bar. She looked happy, alert and relaxed in the released CCTV lobby photo. What if they were looking for food and/or drink, and he suggested the CityLife? He is after all the local who knows the good places. He could have put a date rape drug in her drink while there, and no one would think anything of a young man assisting his tipsy gf to the elevators and rooms. She may never have known he had a room there or lived there. Maybe she thought she was safe because she expected to only be in crowed public places, the casino, etc.

CityLife Auckland: 2018 Room Prices $122, Deals & Reviews | Expedia

The CCTV image released of Grace that Saturday night - the only CCTV photo released by police - was not taken at CityLife. It was captured around 7.15pm near SkyCity and we don't know if the accused was even with her.

Your other theories re eating and drinking in the CityLife facilities are highly possible. Police have given no details at all as to whether they went directly to his room when they arrived. They have said date of death was 1 or 2 December so they know they entered his room before midnight on Saturday. Given they didn't arrive until 9.40pm there wasn't a lot of time to linger around the restaurant/bar and for the murder to occur on 1 December unless he attacked her soon after getting into his room. My feeling is that they went straight to his room especially since they had been to several places together earlier ie lots of opportunities for eating/drinking.

 

[kiwijayne]

They’ve located the shovel that they where looking for

Grace Millane: Police locate shovel linked to murder investigation

 

[TheLondonEye]

If Tinder was used...is that really a standard dating app? I thought it was a “hook-up” app, as in “let’s meet right now” hence the finding of people within 20 minutes or so of where you are right then. Whereas with most dating apps I know that friends use they chat for days or weeks or longer before meeting, if ever. Tinder seems more like a last minute thing? Anyway...just wondering. The Tinder part came out so early it seems there might be something to it imo.

I think you might be thinking of Grindr, which is a gay hookup app. Tinder can be utilised either way - I know people that use it purely to hook up and others that are searching for a soulmate. Grace’s Tinder profile was posted on Reddit a few days ago and her bio was very unassuming - usually if people are looking for sex they will state it pretty plainly so people looking for something else will know not to bother.

THEORY: Per expedia, the CityLife has many amenities including a restaurant and bar. She looked happy, alert and relaxed in the released CCTV lobby photo. What if they were looking for food and/or drink, and he suggested the CityLife? He is after all the local who knows the good places. He could have put a date rape drug in her drink while there, and no one would think anything of a young man assisting his tipsy gf to the elevators and rooms. She may never have known he had a room there or lived there. Maybe she thought she was safe because she expected to only be in crowed public places, the casino, etc.

CityLife Auckland: 2018 Room Prices $122, Deals & Reviews | Expedia

Is it clear as to whether he was actually staying at the hotel? Or did he live in another unit on Queen Street? I’ve heard both...

 

[TheLondonEye]

Here’s her Tinder page for those interested

 

[Jennifer17]

They’ve located the shovel that they where looking for

Grace Millane: Police locate shovel linked to murder investigation

Oh, that would break my heart all over again if I were her parents.

 

[SandyQLS]

...RSBM...

Is it clear as to whether he was actually staying at the hotel? Or did he live in another unit on Queen Street? I’ve heard both...

I agree there has been confusion; I am going to go with BBC:

Bing

"...Court documents showed he had been living at the Citylife Hotel on Queen Street in central Auckland, which is where Miss Millane was last seen. ..."

 

[All & Forward]

Here’s her Tinder page for those interested

<modsnip - discussing other forums>

Also, just one photo? Interesting. And really sad.

 

[tiffkinsadder]

Is it 20 days yet?????

 

[mrjitty]

I agree there has been confusion; I am going to go with BBC:

Bing

"...Court documents showed he had been living at the Citylife Hotel on Queen Street in central Auckland, which is where Miss Millane was last seen. ..."

Yeah although we have to be careful here as well.

It may just mean his address in Court docs was noted as City Life because he had checked in there, and had no other known address. Or maybe he was living there. Or maybe it was his most recent address.

We know very little about where this guy was in the last 2 years

 

[mrjitty]

They’ve located the shovel that they where looking for

Grace Millane: Police locate shovel linked to murder investigation

They seem to have recreated his movements pretty accurately from CCTV/Traffic cams

I guess he purchased this shovel on sunday and dumped it.

The photo they circulated was of a brand new one - likely from the same store I guess

 

[mrjitty]

Gidday.

I thought this before but never posted it... yeah, why go on a Tinder date on your birthday? The only reason you'd generally resort to that is if your hostel's quiet. Sometimes you walk into a backpacker's and there's barely anyone but reception there. But this is Auckland CBD – not a country town – in the absolute prime period for backpackers (they can spend summer in Australia going to festivals, Byron Bay, Sydney for a massive New Year's, then up north in Queensland, over to Fremantle). She also literally told her parents it was a 'party hostel.' A pretty enough, friendly young girl mentions it's her 22nd, on a Saturday... people are keen. It's a great excuse to head to a common room and it's a good way for everyone to focus in on one person and to have a specific sort of goal to the night.

I just don't get it.

She'd been in AKL for some days already and done some stuff.

I wonder if the accused hung around the base/backpacker scene. It seems he was staying on Q Street no matter which version of the reporting is accurate.

As we all know from backpacking - at any new place you head to, at first there are some common hangouts to start from when you don't know any locals.

Again not that it makes any real difference how precisely he targeted her.

But if he had been hanging around with other backpackers already, then he might have been a face on the scene.

 

[mrjitty]

Gidday.

I thought this before but never posted it... yeah, why go on a Tinder date on your birthday?

Her birthday was the next day - Sunday.

I also think you need to factor in people have different approaches to backpacking.

I travelled both alone and in a group. I would not head to the bar/common room and tell everyone it was my birthday whereas it sounds like you would.

Some of my friends preferred to avoid hanging out with backpackers at all costs! Some like to stick close to the travellers trails and hangouts. Some people like to party. Some people are more focussed on seeing the sites.

Generally speaking, if you can meet some locals, this can open a lot of doors to better experiences and especially save you a hell of a lot of money. Hell in my day (20 years ago) we never had the kind of money these kids have. So sure I could afford a beach hut in thailand at US$10 per night but a place like London you dossed via networks of mates until you could find a job and hooking up with a local was a big plus!

So I am not really surprised if UK backpackers would seek out locals early on

I guess we are going to learn a lot more about who she was connected with and what she had done so far

 

[mrjitty]

I don't want to speculate on anything like this.

All I will say is DI Scott Beard looked quite emotional in the Saturday am presser. Of course he was probably up all nite and under huge pressure with the international attention. But presumably this is not his first rodeo

 

[PrimeSuspect]

If there was evidence of foul play in the room it might not be as gruesome as some are suggesting.
These are red flags that a serious assault or death occurred in the room and LE would take immediate action - the bed was stripped and the sheets are missing and can't be accounted for, there was excrement/vomit/small volume of blood on bed/floor/toilet which could've been expelled after strangulation or a head injury inflicted on the victim,
there were broken items/clothes strewn around the room. JMO

 

[PrimeSuspect]

The backpacker was last seen in the company of a man at CityLife Hotel in Auckland, not far from the hostel she was staying in, which was on the same road were Mr Kempson lived.

Grace Millane murder case: missing shovel found after police appeal

Hopefully the Telegraph have this right.

 

[FigTree]

Main Stream Media
The Guardian

Grace Millane: police find shovel after CCTV search
Grace Millane: police find shovel after CCTV search

Auckland city police said they discovered the implement in the central west Auckland area after going through CCTV footage.

Det Insp Scott Beard said: “A shovel that was the subject of a police appeal in relation to the Grace Millane investigation … was located and seized in the central west Auckland area. Police would like to thank those members of the public who called … with various sightings of similar items.”

I wonder why the shovels location wasn't known precisely - if the accused was questioned as to where it was.
Police and the public have done some good work to find it.

 

[Elainera]

Main Stream Media
The Guardian

Grace Millane: police find shovel after CCTV search
Grace Millane: police find shovel after CCTV search


I wonder why the shovels location wasn't known precisely - if the accused was questioned as to where it was.
Police and the public have done some good work to find it.

Figtree I have the feeling he didn't confess to anything. jmo

 

[Tortoise]

Figtree I have the feeling he didn't confess to anything. jmo

Me too. They were asking for the public's help in tracing the movements of the car for 3 hours on Monday morning. I expect they have been able to fill in some of those gaps now from cctv footage, and inspection of parts of his route turned up the shovel.

MOO