Stepbrother of Grace Millane's killer: 'He has no shred of decency'
The man who killed the British backpacker is facing life in prison with a minimum of 10 years when he is sentenced on 21 February.
Saturday 23 November 2019 18:05, UK
The stepbrother of the man who murdered Grace Millane has said her killer "doesn't have any shred of a decent human being inside him".
He apologised to Ms Millane's family in the interview on New Zealand television, which was released a day after his stepbrother was found guilty of murdering the British backpacker.
The man, who cannot be named, said he was disappointed that his stepbrother did not confess to the crime.
He told TVNZ: "Sorry for their loss. To know it's one of our family members, even though it's not our actions, it's very difficult, and I can't imagine the pain and hurt and what they've had to go through, through court."
The 27-year-old killer - described as a "sociopath" during the trial - strangled Ms Millane, 21, during a date in Auckland on 1 December 2018 after they met on the dating site Tinder.
He shoved her body inside a suitcase before burying her in the Waitakere Ranges outside the city.
Throughout the trial, he denied murdering her, arguing that she died accidentally during consensual sex in which she asked to be strangled as part of a BDSM practice.
The stepbrother added: "I don't think it was a violence thing, to me, I think it was power, it was just in a split moment, he enjoyed the power and kept going."
Ms Millane's killer is facing life in prison with a minimum of 10 years when he is sentenced on 21 February.