Man convicted of killing British backpacker jailed for minimum 17 years

A 28-year-old New Zealand man who murdered a British woman backpacker was handed life imprisonment with a minimum of 17 years by the Auckland High Court on Friday. Grace Millane went missing in Auckland on Dec. 1, 2018, while travelling after finishing university. The man was convicted for the murder by a jury on Nov. 22 last year but his sentence had been deferred.

The convicted man met Millane through dating app Tinder while she was backpacking through New Zealand. Both shared drinks on the eve of her 22nd birthday, the day she went missing, and later went to his downtown Auckland apartment. Police found her body several days later in a shallow grave in a bush-land. The killing shocked New Zealand. It also sparked intense debate about New Zealand's record on violence against women and its reputation as a safe, easy-going holiday destination.