INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
British backpacker Grace Millane was murdered by a man "seeking total domination and some sort of weird thrill over women who were his
sexual partners", a court heard today.Her killer had then taken "trophy photographs" because of a "morbid interest in a dead woman's
genitalia", prosecutor Brian Dickey said.Mr Dickey was making his closing speech at Auckland High Court in New Zealand as the trial of a
27-year-old man charged with murder draws to an end.Image:The suspect cannot be identified for legal reasonsHe said there was a "compelling
case of murder" against the defendant, who claims Grace died after consenting to being choked during sex."It's not safe sex play that killed
Grace Millane, it's strangulation," said Mr Dickey."At some point in which she lost consciousness and would have become limp and lifeless
and he had to carry on."And if that's not reckless murder, someone will have to explain to me what is."Mr Dickey said evidence from
pathology experts was clear that it would take between five and 10 minutes of sustained pressure before Grace, a university graduate from
Essex, died.And he said the prosecution did not have to prove the man, whose identity is protected, had meant to kill her, only that he was
reckless about what he was doing."If you kill someone by conscious risk-taking that is murder," he said."If you are satisfied he knew that
he was doing something that was causing some level of harm."Image:Footage of British backpacker Grace Millane meeting with her Tinder
dateThe alleged killer's lawyer told the jury the defendant was "just a young man who is prepared to do what his sexual partners want him to
do in the bedroom".Barrister Ian Brookie said it was "abundantly clear" the backpacker from Wickford liked to be choked during sex."He was
not experienced enough to actually know how to do this properly and what the dangers actually were," he said."What they were doing, putting
pressure in each others' necks, is now just a part of having sex for some people
They were not thinking of it as a dangerous act."She was encouraging him to do this and to apply more force because this is what she
liked."The idea, he said, was not violence or pain, but to heighten her sexual pleasure, but their inexperience coupled with alcohol meant
safety was not their priority, said Mr Brookie."He reached orgasm and went to the shower
He never for a moment considered that Miss Millane might be in trouble."Image:Grace's body was found in a suitcase in woodland just outside
AucklandMr Dickey dismissed the suspect's version of events in a second police interview, where he claimed he had fallen asleep in the
shower of his apartment and found Miss Millane dead on the floor hours later, as a "labyrinth of storytelling".He had lied about trying to
take an overdose of pills after she died because "he's trying to make out he's a decent human being", Mr Dickey told the jury of seven women
and five men.Mr Dickey said the man had been searching for a place and a way of disposing of the backpacker's body and had then taken seven
intimate photographs of her before watching hardcore porn."There's really no way out of the photographs for the defendant," said Mr Dickey
If they were taken while she was alive, he said, it was proof he was already planning her death and disposal.If she was dead, he said, it
proved the man had "eroticised her death".Mr Dickey said the man's claim to police that he was distressed by what had happened to "a person
he had a real connection with", could be dismissed by the way he treated her - with "a complete and utter absence of dignity".Rather than
calling emergency services he had bought cleaning supplies and arranged another Tinder date for that afternoon.And Mr Dickey said the man
had still never admitted to causing her death, only "a little touchy touchy on the throat".Image:Grace Millane's parents David and Gillian
have been attending the trialThe defence, said Mr Dickey, are not admitting murder or manslaughter, but instead "saying no foul, accident,
It's a terrible business but he didn't do anything wrong".And, he said, the defence claimed what the accused did after Miss Millane's death
was down to panic and did not help the jury decide how she died.In fact, said Mr Dickey, the defendant had been "nonchalant" as he went to
buy a second suitcase to replace the one he buried in the woods with Grace's body inside.Mr Dickey said: "He was as cool as a cucumber, able
to say to Detective Settle: 'Don't worry about that, that's still in my room, go and have a look
I haven't bought a suitcase to dispose of a body'."That's the level of planning, almost as if he is playing a game with the police, that
tells you something about his mindset."He's pretty good at this."Mr Dickey said Miss Millane's sexual history, during which she practised
consensual choking with a former partner, was irrelevant.Her death "is not sex gone wrong," he said
"It can't be consent because of what was happening
She must have gone limp and he must have carried on and that must be murder."Mr Brookie said after Miss Millane's death that the murder
suspect lied time and again about the events because he had panicked, and although he had "acted selfishly" and what he did was
"unacceptable" it only meant he was unable to cope in a crisis."The stakes were high," he said
"This is not knocking over a milk jug, this is someone dead on his floor
It looks terrible.""This is not murder," said Mr Brookie
"It's a tragic, unintended, unforeseen accident".Judge Simon Moore will sum up the case on Friday morning before the jury considers its
