Found Deceased NEW ZEALAND - Grace Millane, 22, British backpacker, Auckland, 1 Dec 2018 *Arrest* #2

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11:42am - Dickey says the accused's version of events of what happened in the CityLife hotel, given in a December 8 police interview, reveal something that can only be considered "BDSM-lite" - "a world away from strangulation". He characterises it as a "little bit of chokey".

After waking up in the morning to find Millane on the floor with blood coming from her nose, the accused told police he was shocked.

Dickey questions this, again asking where the evidence of panic was. He says the accused's treatment of Millane's body afterwards showed an "utter disregard for dignity", especially considering the couple appeared happy together during their date.

The prosecutor finishes the first part of his closing statement by saying if the accused had told the full truth during the interview, he would have been admitting to murder.

Grace Millane murder trial: Live updates as Crown, defence present closing statements
 
12:04pm - Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey has resumed his closing summary in front of a full public gallery.

He winds up his discussion of the December 8 police interview by saying that it doesn't provide any evidence to support a narrative that Millane died accidentally by choking during rough sex. Dickey says the accused never said that.

Grace Millane murder trial: Live updates as Crown, defence present closing statements
 
12:09pm - The three Tinder matches of the accused who gave evidence during the trial are now mentioned by Dickey. He says one of the women didn't want to meet the man as she felt uncomfortable about him.

Another alleged the accused suffocated her with his genitals. This woman's evidence shows the accused as a person "seeking domination and power over a weaker partner", the prosecutor says.

Dickey tells the jury the witness' story was "too embarrassing to make up", as the woman put it.

That witness was questioned for hours by the defence on why she continued to message the man in the weeks after the encounter and never cut the conversation off. The woman told the court she did this to appease him and to make sure he didn’t turn up somewhere to find her because he was angry with her.

Dickey says the woman may be criticised for speaking to him after the alleged suffocation or leading him on. But, the prosecutor says, she was "managing him in a way that made her feel safe".

Grace Millane murder trial: Live updates as Crown, defence present closing statements
 
Crown solicitor Brian Dickey now turns his address to three women who gave evidence about their interactions with the accused.

The first woman said she had safe, casual sex with him - which included him choking her.

"This shows he is capable of having safe sex with minor BDSM elements,” Dickey says.

The second woman told the jury the accused liked domination and strangulation and he tried to meet up with her on December 3 and 4 - days after Grace died. She never agreed.

"That's remarkable to meet up with another woman after having just killed another woman by strangling her - that, you may find chilling," Dickey puts to the jury.

The third woman gave evidence, claiming she feared for her life during a sexual encounter with the accused, during which he nearly suffocated her.

"The defence contested her evidence very hard," Dickey reminds the jury, with defence counsel questioning why she continued to share over 700 messages with him after the encounter.

While she may be criticised for leading him on - "so be it”, Dickey said.

"With respect, it was probably the smartest thing she could have done. She, rightly or wrongly, was managing him in a way that made her feel safe."

Grace Millane murder trial: Crown and defence sum up the case
 
LucyRocket said:
12:04pm - Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey has resumed his closing summary in front of a full public gallery.

He winds up his discussion of the December 8 police interview by saying that it doesn't provide any evidence to support a narrative that Millane died accidentally by choking during rough sex. Dickey says the accused never said that.

Grace Millane murder trial: Live updates as Crown, defence present closing statements
Click to expand...
Dickey is pointing out the obvious to us, the accused never said he killed her, accidentally or intentionally! So the interview tape with the police is all there is, and he totally skipped over the part where Grace died, and he didn't take the stand, so this guy has a real problem with taking ownership over his behaviour, as seen with the witness who was scared of him, she had a lot to be scared about.
He made up elaborate lies like socialising with total strangers on two occasions, there was no need for it even within a lie! He'd be a good study for personality disorders, imo.
 
12.20pm

Auckland Crown Solicitor Brian Dickey said the accused had "this interest in complete domination".

"It's a sexual interest, it's power and it's control," he said, adding it risks women's lives.

Dickey told the jury the accused had shown a propensity for this, highlighting the evidence of one of the accused's Tinder dates in November last year who said she was suffocated during sex.

"[She] fought for her life and survived, Grace Millane did not. Both were restrained," Dickey said.

Grace Millane murder trial: Jury to hear Crown, defence closing arguments
 
Crown solicitor Brian Dickey continues with the third witness' evidence.

She previously told the court of a night she spent in the accused’s room at CityLife Hotel, where he smothered her with his body to the point she couldn't breath.

He was facing her feet and holding her forearms down, Dickey reminds the jury.

"She first thrashed and kicked and fought to get free. But when that didn't work she went floppy and lifeless so the accused would know that something was wrong.

"He [the accused] still did not get off her."

The woman said she thought to herself that this couldn't be the way she died.

"Chilling," Dickey said. "What does it make us think about him? He was enjoying that?"

When the accused did eventually get off, and the woman was desperate to leave, the defendant feigned dying of cancer or something "ludicrous" to get her to stay, he says.

Dickey reminds the jury of the witness' final comment in her evidence: "Someone who faked having cancer - just after trying to suffocate me and kill me - there is a word for that: a sociopath".

"She [the third woman] fought for her life and survived," Dickey said.

"Grace Millane didn't."

Grace Millane murder trial: Crown and defence sum up the case
 
Next, Crown solicitor Brian Dickey turns to the pathology evidence provided by both the defence's expert, Dr David Fintan Garavan and the Crown's expert, Dr Simon Stables.

"It takes quite some time to kill someone by manual strangulation - 5 to 10 minutes," Dickey tells the jury.

A post mortem examination of Grace's body showed she had a congested face, eye hemorrhaging, and a bloody nose - proof there was a venous obstruction at play when she died, the court hears.

A venous obstruction refers to pressure applied to veins which prevents blood returning from the brain to the heart, Dickey explains.

"Dr Garavan couldn't have been clearer in his evidence that a person will fall unconscious after 3 to 5 minutes [of venous obstruction] and you have to maintain the pressure, sustained pressure, before they will die. After the body had gone limp underneath your body," he says.

"The Crown says that is powerful evidence that Grace Millane was murdered."

"It's not for the pathologist to say so, but the Crown says the person doing that [strangulation] must have known that they were hurting her, causing her harm, and they carried on recklessly, and she died."

"You push down hard enough for 90 seconds on your neck, you think about that, that's a long time," Dickey says to the jury.

"Especially with that person who is struggling beneath you."

Pathology evidence showed Grace had restraint bruises on her body, Dickey says.

Grace Millane murder trial: Crown and defence sum up the case
 
12:47pm - The prosecutor notes both pathologists who spoke to the court said death via manual strangulation during sex was highly uncommon.

Dickey says for that scenario to have happened, the accused would have to hold his sexual partner’s neck for many minutes and with enough force to obstruct key veins or nerves.

The pathologists said eventually the woman’s body would have gone lifeless below the accused and she would have also gone unconscious.

Neither pathologists have come across such cases in their decades of experience.

12:31pm - Moving on to the evidence relating to pathology and strangulation, Dickey says Dr Clare Healy - an expert in sexual assaults - told the court that it would take "quite some effort and some time to kill a person by [mechanical asphyxiation]".

The prosecutor also reiterates that pathologist Dr Fintan Garavan said sustained pressure to the neck must be maintained for many minutes - potentially up to 10 - for someone to die. Pressure must continue to be applied following the person going unconscious.

Dickey puts it to the jury that the person "doing that must have known that he was hurting her, causing her harm… it was reckless and he carried on anyway".

He says this is "powerful evidence" to suggest Millane was murdered.

Grace Millane murder trial: Live updates as Crown, defence present closing statements
 
Tortoise said:
I think a defendant should be barred from advancing a defence if he hasn't even admitted that defence in his own words.
Click to expand...
Imo Dickey is doing well at pointing out the defendant did say things to the police but never the thing that would be most obvious for him to tell—what the heck happened to her? In his version he just glides past the central fact of her death.

I’m surprised Dickey hasn’t said more about all the blood at the scene but maybe I missed it or maybe it’s not a key piece of evidence to them.
 
Kikixxxx said:
12:47pm - The prosecutor notes both pathologists who spoke to the court said death via manual strangulation during sex was highly uncommon.
Click to expand...

Exactly, it's not easily done otherwise there would be many, many more of these types of deaths given the prevalence of BDSM and breath play. Seems the defendant went considerably further than is normal and safe, and for a much longer time than is normal and safe.

We've heard a lot of evidence and the coverage has been outstanding (on here too, thanks guys!). Unless the jury are swayed by something we do not know, I'm satisfied this should be a murder verdict. He may not have intended to kill Grace when they went back to his room, but he MUST have known during those minutes he had his hands round her neck that she was dying.
 
Crown solicitor Brian Dickey tells the jury the rarity of death by strangulation during sex is important.

"[pathologist Dr Simon] Stables said he'd never seen it. Doctor Garavan said he'd never seen it either," he tells the jury.

Garavan said in his evidence: "I'm not saying it couldn't happen, I'm just saying it's extremely rare."

Dickey continues: "He's [the accused] much bigger than her to pin her down. She can do what she wants but she's a small woman and he's a big guy."

There was obvious evidence of venous congestion [the blocking of blood travelling through the veins] - which can result only from sustained pressure on her neck for quite a long time, Dickey says.

"If she had got her neck free that would have restarted the clock, according to Clare Healy [a pathology strangulation expert], Dickey says.

Grace Millane murder trial: Crown and defence sum up the case
 
1:00pm - Dickey notes blood was found around the CityLife hotel apartment, with DNA matching that of Millane.

He says considering the position of her body, and the small size of the room, the accused would have likely had to step over her, or around her, when moving from the shower he claimed he passed out in, to the bed.


On the defence’s case, Dickey questions the relevance of Professor Clarissa Smith’s evidence. Prof Smith - an expert in sexual cultures - who said BDSM was common in society, and considered an umbrella term for many different practices.

He says there "aren’t mounting bodies in the streets" by people touching other people’s necks during sex.

The prosecutor also questions the relevance of knowing Millane had an interest in BDSM or that she has previously been choked during sex by partners. He called it "prurient".

Grace Millane murder trial: Live updates as Crown, defence present closing statements
 
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