Rod Kackley - The Murder of Grace Millane

Grace was a beautiful, talented, loving daughter. Grace was our sunshine and she will be missed forever. She did not deserve to be murdered in such a barbaric way.

David Millane

1

B IG, STRONG, POWERFULLY built, Jack quickly held the young woman down, sitting on top of her, with her forearms pinned. She couldnt breathe. This scene was much more than Emily had bargained for.

Shed been thinking about BDSM-style sex, or maybe a little rough sex for quite a while. Thats what brought Emily and Jack together on Tinder.

Tonight, theyd been drinking. Jack told her that he wanted sex. Hell, thats why they got together on Tinder in the first place. But a near-death experience was certainly not in her playbook.

This was all wrong. And worse, it could be deadly.

Theyd met on Tinder. Good looking guy, he said hed been born in Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand. They didnt spend a lot of time getting to know each other. Emily wasnt bothered by that; after all, theyd met on Tinder.

But Jack, smooth-shaven with a full head of short, black hair, had been more than forthcoming. And what a crazy life hed led. Fascinating, too. Jack said he was a cancer survivor something that definitely plucked Emilys heartstrings. Learning his parents were dead, again she felt sympathy for Jack. And, as if his story needed any extra spice, his cousin was an All-Black rugby star.

On top of all of that, Jack was a successful businessman. He told Emily of his plans to buy a fabulous restaurant, right on Aucklands waterfront.

Their first date had gone well. The sex had been great. But now Jack was actually sitting on top of her. All she could think about, fighting through a fog of shock and disbelief, was breathing. She was literally fighting for breath, battling for her life.

This was the second time theyd gotten together, Emily and Jack were both in their late twenties and natives of New Zealand.

Their first date had been close to perfect. Emily expected the second time to be even better. The plan was to meet up for a drink in Aucklands City Centre.

The City Centre in Aukland is where you want to be, if youre young, in love, or just in lust. Hell, if you have a pulse, the central business district of Auckland is where its all happening in Auckland. Its the heart of the citys business, arts, and entertainment worlds.

Once they got together, however, Jack told her that he needed to change his clothes, so they went back to his room at the CityLife hotel on Queen Street instead.

She was impressed. The CityLife is a charming, upscale, modern hotel that includes a restaurant and bar, where Emily was sure they could settle down for at least one drink. There was also an indoor heated pool. Emily hadnt brought a swimsuit. But, maybe she would next time.

On their way to the CityLife, the young couple ran into a nearby shop and picked up some alcohol. They were both ready as ready could be for a hot night.

Once inside Jacks hotel room, he pushed Emily for sex and finally shoved her back on to the bed. He knelt above her. She was worried, afraid, yet also turned on. But then, suddenly, Jack sat on her.

This was not good, clean, nonsexual sex, Emily thought, although not in as many words. More to the point, she was suddenly scared to death. This was so terribly wrong, Emily wasnt sure shed come out of it alive. She thought about nothing except her own survival.

And, Emily would have told him that if shed been able to breathe. She was suffocating. This was something Jack had said he wanted, telling Emily she'd enjoy it. But this was nowhere near sexual to her. She was nowhere near being turned on.

Struggling underneath Jack Emily managed to turn her head to one side so she could catch a breath. Once she could breathe, Emily started to fight back. Emily kicked violently, trying at the same time, to tell Jack she couldnt breathe, that she was suffocating. Maybe he didn't understand how close to death Emily was afraid she was.

Terrified now, Emily tried something new. Maybe, she thought, if Jack thinks Ive passed out, hell get off of me.

This cant be the way I die, she thought.

It worked, He got up and off. Emily opened her eyes and pushed him off the bed.

Jack fixed her with an accusing stare and said in a voice as cold as ice, You dont think I did that on purpose, do you?

2

W HAT COULD HAVE BEEN a perfect night had all gone so wrong. Since they were on their second date, Jack figured there be no problem having sex. Besides, he and Emily both knew what they wanted. It was all they'd chatted about on Tinder. Or so he'd thought.

Picking up a bottle of booze on the way to his hotel room might not have been the most romantic plan of action. But soft, sweet seduction wasn't the goal, was it. Neither of them had mentioned romance or anything close to that in their text messages.

And it wasnt like they didnt have a great time in his bed the first time.

Jack loved domination, being in charge, being on top. Emily knew that from the first time they chatted on Tinder. Why had she reacted like this?

At first, he thought her struggle had been part of the scene for her. For some, it made it more exciting, so he went with the flow. However, in the end, shed acted like he was out to rape and kill her.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

As far as Jack was concerned, after that night, his relationship with Emily became even more convoluted and confusing.

It was like he couldnt turn her off. They must have exchanged something like 700 messages. Jack told her he had gang connections, that hed beat up several people in bars. Sure, Emily kept replying to all of his messages. She was deathly afraid not to reply, scared to death that Jack would explode, track her down, and kill her.

But Jack didnt get that message. Instead, he thought Emily was scorchingly hot for him. However, for some reason, Emily just couldnt pull the trigger to get together again.

Oh, well, he thought. Some people just have trouble dealing with their own sexuality.

More than one woman had backed off when hed been honest about his desires. They said there was no way theyd allow him to strangle them during sex.