Grace Millane’s cousin says killer’s sentencing is NOT closure and does nothing to change fact the fact she’s gone
THE killer of Brit backpacker Grace Millane is hours away from being sentenced - but her family say it'll never bring "closure".
Justice Simon Moore will shortly sentence the 28-year-old murderer in New Zealand, after a jury found him guilty of strangling Grace to death during sex, and burying her in a suitcase.
Despite the guilty verdict, his identity can still not yet be revealed for legal reasons.
However, ahead of the justice's sentencing, one of Grace's cousins, Hannah O'Callaghan, told that his punishment for the crime may not help her family to overcome their grief.
Hannah added: "The sentence will not change the fact that Grace is gone".
She described her relative as a "fun-loving carefree individual" with much to look forward to.
Grace, from Wickford, Essex, had just started to travel the world after recently graduating from university and while in New Zealand, went on a date with the man on December 1 2018.
She was killed either that night or in the early hours of the next morning, the date of her 22nd birthday.
STRANGLED
Her body was later found buried in a shallow grave in a forested area in West Auckland.
Prosecutors said the killer strangled her and shoved her body inside a suitcase before burying her.
She was assumed missing and her father, David Millane, flew to New Zealand as local authorities spent a week searching until police discovered her body.
The three-week trial heard intimate details of Grace's sex life including the final night of her life after meeting her killer through Tinder.
Jurors rejected the defence claim that her death was accidental and occurred during rough sex.
A three-week trial at Auckland High Court heard that the murderer was a fantasist who would tell potential sexual partners that he had celebrity connections, had been orphaned and even had cancer.
It also emerged he was an incessant liar who "fell out with everybody and was shunned by family for stealing", the New Zealand Herald reported.
HELP FOR ABUSE VICTIMS
Grace's family has recently set up a charity in her memory, called , which collects handbags and toiletries for domestic abuse victims.
The project is running across the US, Canada, New Zealand and Britain.
Hannah described it as a "really fitting tribute" to her cousin, because it helped to make women "feel like they are worth something".
She told : "A lot of these women have to escape with less than 20 minutes to leave.
"To have a handbag with things we take for granted is life-changing for them."
It has also helped Grace's mum, Gillian, to grieve.
Hannah told the BBC: "It's allowed her to express her grief.
"Sometimes when things like this happen you do feel useless.
"You can't change it, so let's make some positives out of our negatives."
Love Grace describes its namesake as a "loving, family-oriented free spirit, with a beautiful caring nature, who was a loyal friend."
It says that her family "created a legacy in her name" to raise funds and "promote awareness to end male violence towards women.
"To continue this legacy, we have created 'Love Grace' bags, donated in memory of our amazing Grace which contain everyday essentials... to help you on your road to a safe future."
