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Grace Millane – Brit backpacker said she ‘clicked’ with Tinder date in text to friend hours before he ‘murdered her’
BRIT backpacker Grace Millane messaged her friend to say “I click with him so well” about the Tinder date who allegedly strangled her hours later.
The 21-year-old, from Essex, was on a date with her alleged killer in Auckland, New Zealand, when her uni pal Ameena Ashcroft received a text updating her on how things were going.
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In a letter read to Auckland High Court Ameena said she "thought something was out of place" when the young woman sent a series of messages on December 1, 2018.
Jurors heard in the texts, she admitted to wanting to "get smashed" with her Tinder date.
As she downed cocktails and tequila shots Grace excitedly added “he’s coming to London next year and “mate, he lives in a hotel”.
Ameena replied: “What. Okay girl. You HAVE to go to his apartment in the hotel. Bet it’s like the top floor."
A court in Auckland, New Zealand, heard Grace told her pal the date was “really good,” adding: “I will let you know what happens tomorrow.”
The victim, who described Ms Ashcroft as her “fav” of all her University friends, then sent her final message, saying: "Literally, I click with him so well."'
In a statement read to the jury, Miss Ashcroft, who was in Dubai at the time of the message swap, said: “I was a bit concerned but I didn’t show Grace that I was.
“I felt something was weird that she was on a date with a manager of an oil company but due to being fatigued I didn’t want to express this.”
Literally, I click with him so well... I will let you know what happens tomorrow
Grace Millane in her text to pal
Ms Ashcroft’s statement read: “I sensed Grace was having a good time and she seemed to be drunk and really enjoying herself.
“I do not think Grace had any concerns for her safety when I was in contact with her. I did not receive a reply or hear anything further from Grace.”
It is alleged the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, murdered the young woman, and shoved her body inside a suitcase before burying her in a forested area outside Auckland.
The defence claims the death, on either December 1 or December 2, 2018, the date of Ms Millane's 22nd birthday, was accidental.
Earlier in the trial, the jury sat through heart-breaking footage of her last hours alive on a Tinder date with the man accused of choking her to death during sex.
LAST MOMENTS CAUGHT ON CAMERA
With her parents watching from the public gallery, Grace was shown taking a picture of a Christmas tree in a New Zealand casino, which she sent to them while waiting to meet the alleged killer for the first time.
It was the university graduate’s last contact with her family, but today, property developer David Millane and his wife Gill saw 30 minutes of footage discovered by police from a chain of CCTV cameras covering central Auckland.
The film covered almost their entire date from meeting outside the Sky City casino, through drinking at a succession of bars, to entering the CityLife hotel where the defendant was living.
A final scene, at 9.41pm, shows the couple exiting the hotel lift and heading to the alleged killer’s apartment.
It was on December 1 last year, the eve of her 22nd birthday, that Grace and the 27-year-old man arranged to meet after connecting through Tinder the previous day.
Detective Adam Bicknell told the jury he had been in charge of tracing Grace and her alleged killer’s movements through the city.
His team had looked at hundreds of hours of film captured over six days, said Detective Bicknell.
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Data showed the defendant had searched online about "rigor mortis” before browsing websites for large duffel bags, suitcases and car hire.
His phone was also used to search for "flesh-eating birds" and "are there vultures in New Zealand?" days later, on December 5, 2018.
Records showed the defendant had searched online for "the hottest fire", "large bags near me" and "Waitakere Ranges" - where Ms Millane's body was later found contorted inside a suitcase on December 9, 2018.
Grace’s parents David and Gillian watched on as prosecutor Robin McCoubrey told the court she had been strangled until she bled through her nose.
The accused, who claims Grace's death was accidental after she asked him to choke her during sex, is then alleged to have gone on another date while her corpse lay in the flat.
Grace's body was later found stuffed in a suitcase in the foetal position and buried in dense woodland.
The defendant denies murder and the trial continues.
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