Grace Millane murder trial: It would have taken up to five minutes to strangle British backpacker to death, pathologist tells jury

Expert tells court he had never seen a case of someone dying from strangulation during a sexual encounter
Luke O'Reilly12 November 2019
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British backpacker Grace Millane would have been strangled for up to five minutes before she died, a court has heard.

The 22-year-old, from Wickford, Essex, was found with bruising to her neck, which forensic pathologist Dr Simon Stables told the jury at the High Court in Auckland, New Zealand was "consistent with restraint".

The man who denies murdering Miss Millane claims she died after rough sex and Dr Stables said her brain would have had to have been starved of oxygen for up to five minutes to cause her death.

He added: "To do that for four to five minutes takes quite a bit of effort.

"It's quite a lot of time. It does not seem like it but to do it for four to five minutes would take quite a bit of strength."

Ms Millane was on a round-the-world trip when she disappeared in New Zealand in December last year. Her body was found a week later in a shallow grave in forest on the outskirts of Auckland.

 More than a dozen bruises were found on her body
PA

The defendant, 27, denies murdering Ms Millane at his apartment in Auckland after they met on dating app Tinder. His lawyers claim he strangled her by accident during consensual sex.

The British graduate had met the alleged killer on the eve of her 22nd birthday, going for drinks with him in bars before returning to the CityLife hotel where he was living.

Dr Stables told the jury on Tuesday he did not know of a case of someone accidentally dying through strangulation during a sexual encounter.

"From my point of view it's incredibly rare," he said. "I personally have never seen a case."

Dr Stables told the court on Monday that more than a dozen bruises were found on her body, occurring “probably around the time of death”.

The forensic pathologist said it was extremely difficult to bruise a body post-mortem
Phil Walter/Getty Images

Nine of the bruises were on her upper arms, her collarbone, and to the front and back of her left shoulder.

He added that it was extremely difficult to bruise a body post-mortem, and that the markings were "probably around the time of death" and consistent with "some sort of restraint".

However, he made clear that exact dating of the bruising was impossible and he could not speak to whether it was caused through consensual activity.

Earlier in the trial, a former Tinder date gave evidence to the trial that she had to fight for her life when the accused nearly suffocated her while she gave him oral sex.

She branded him a "sociopath" who told her that he was the cousin of an All-Black rugby player and that he was dying of cancer.

The trial at Auckland High Court continues.

New Zealand courts have put a ban on naming the accused and New Zealand's government have asked international media to abide by the supression order.

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