Grace Millane’s Tinder killer attacked at least two other women, New Zealand police reveal

Jesse Shane Kempson strangled Millane, who visited New Zealand from Britain after graduating university

The murder shocked New Zealand, which is regarded as a safe place to travel, prompting a tearful apology from PM Jacinda Ardern

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Jesse Shane Kempson sits in the High Court during the trial for the murder of British backpacker Grace Millane in Auckland, New Zealand. Photo: AP

Published: 3:47pm, 22 Dec 2020Updated: 9:42pm, 22 Dec 2020

The New Zealand man who murdered British backpacker Grace Millane committed violent sex crimes against at least two other women, a court revealed on Tuesday, as police urged any more victims to come forward.

The Supreme Court overturned orders banning Jesse Shane Kempson being identified as the predator who strangled Millane in December 2018 after the pair met through the online dating app Tinder.

The murder shocked New Zealand, which is usually regarded as a safe place to travel, prompting a tearful apology to Millane’s family from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after the young traveller’s body was found.

The suppression orders on reporting Kempson’s name remained in place even after his murder conviction in November last year, with the court offering no explanation at the time for the highly unusual move.

But a judgment released Tuesday revealed that he was still facing two trials for sexual offences when the Millane verdict came in, and the court feared naming him could prejudice those proceedings.

In the first, he was convicted of sexual violation, assault and threatening to kill his former partner, reportedly brandishing a knife to her throat.

The second resulted in a rape conviction involving another woman that Kempson met on Tinder.