Grace Millane murderer convicted of raping another British tourist

The man who murdered British backpacker Grace Millane after meeting her on a dating app raped another British tourist months earlier, according to reports.

Jesse Shane Kempson, who the New Zealand Supreme Court has ruled can now be named, was convicted of murdering Ms Millane by strangling her in an Auckland hotel after he killed her on December 1, 2018 – the day before her 22nd birthday met Tinder.

The 28-year-old has now been convicted of other violent crimes in two recent trials, including the rape of another woman he met on Tinder.

Kempson, who opted to appear before a judge in October and November, was convicted of rape last month.

The Guardian reported that the crime took place eight months before Ms Millane was murdered by Kempson and the victim was also a British tourist who he met on the dating app.

The newspaper says he raped the tourist when she refused sex after a date.

The woman reportedly went to police when she recognized Kempson from media coverage on the day he was charged with Ms Millane’s murder.

Kempson was also convicted in an October trial of threatening to kill, two counts of assault with a weapon, three counts of assault and two counts of sexual assault by unlawful sexual relations, court documents said.

The Guardian says the victim in this case was Kempson’s former girlfriend and the offenses occurred over a period of a few months in 2017.

Kempson was allowed to keep his name secret during the trial because his defense attorney argued that revealing his name would deny him a fair trial.

The Supreme Court has now allowed his name to be published, saying: “The orders suppressing the applicant’s name in connection with his conviction for the murder of Ms Millane and his convictions in October and November are now void.”

This comes after Kempson appealed to New Zealand’s Court of Appeal in August, but it ruled against him on Friday, according to court documents seen by the PA news agency.

Judges Stephen Kos, Mark Cooper and Patricia Courtney said the Auckland murder was “committed with a high degree of callousness” because the man failed “to call for help, to search the internet for methods of disposing of bodies… Prepare steps for elimination.” the body and went on another date while Ms. Millane’s body remained in his room.”

The judges also found that his sentence was not “manifestly unfair.”

Ms Millane’s body was found in a suitcase buried in a woodland area.

Kempson was convicted of murder by a jury in November 2019 and sentenced in February to a minimum of 17 years in prison.

He claimed Ms Millane, from Wickford, Essex, died accidentally after the couple had rough sex that went too far.

In sentencing, Judge Simon Moore told Kempson his actions amounted to “behavior that highlights a lack of empathy and a sense of self-entitlement and objectification.”

On Friday, the judges confirmed this statement: “Mrs Millane was particularly vulnerable because she was drunk, in a strange apartment, naked, in the arms of a comparative stranger whom she thought she could trust, and with his hands around her neck.”

Ms Millane’s father David Millane, 62, died last month after a battle with cancer, New Zealand police said.

On Friday, police released a statement from the Millane family saying they were “pleased with the outcome reached with the failure of the appeal.”

The family thanked the police, judges, prosecutors and the people of New Zealand and said: “Grace, you are and always will be our sunshine.”

They added: “Grace was a kind, fun-loving daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, aunt, cousin and friend who had her whole life ahead of her.

“She was enjoying the first adventure of her life before her life was so cruelly and brutally ended by her murderer.

“Her sense of fun, her sense of adventure, her love of travel and exploration, and her ability to brighten any room she enters with her generosity are memories that we as a family cherish and will remember forever “you.”