The Tinder Date Murder

☕ Support the podcast and help keep independent true crime storytelling alive: Buy Me A Coffee: http://buymeacoffee.com/Whattheyhidepod On the evening of 1 December 2018, 21-year-old British backpacker Grace Millane went on a Tinder date in Auckland, New Zealand. CCTV footage showed Grace laughing, drinking and enjoying a night out in the city centre before entering the CityLife Hotel with a man she had met only hours earlier. She was never seen alive again. What followed became one of the most high-profile murder investigations in New Zealand’s history. Through CCTV footage, forensic evidence, phone records and internet searches, detectives painstakingly reconstructed Grace’s final hours and uncovered a disturbing trail that led from a hotel room in central Auckland to a shallow grave in the Waitākere Ranges. In this episode of What They Hide: Hidden Crimes in Plain Sight, we examine: Grace’s life and world travels Her arrival in New Zealand The Tinder date that became a murder investigation The CCTV timeline of her final hours The disappearance that shocked two nations The suitcase and burial site The controversial “rough sex” defence The murder trial of Jesse Shane Kempson The verdict and sentencing The wider debate around violence against women and victim blaming This episode contains discussions of murder, sexual violence, coercive behaviour and themes some listeners may find distressing. Listener discretion is advised. Music by MUBERT  Follow the podcast: 📱 Instagram / X / TikTok: @whattheyhidepod 📧 Email: [email protected] ⭐ If you enjoy the show, please consider leaving a rating and review. It really helps new listeners discover the podcast.   Sources Primary Reporting New Zealand Herald Coverage Archive – Grace Millane Case BBC News – Grace Millane Case Coverage The Guardian – Grace Millane Trial Coverage RNZ (Radio New Zealand) – Grace Millane Coverage Case Information Wikipedia – Murder of Grace Millane Court of Appeal of New Zealand Judgment (Kempson Appeal) Trial & Forensic Reporting The Guardian – Pathology Evidence During Trial BBC News – Jury Finds Kempson Guilty of Murder BBC News – Sentencing of Jesse Kempson Context & Analysis ABC News Australia – Later Convictions and Predator Allegations Revealed The Guardian – Debate Around Sexual History Evidence and the Rough Sex Defence   What They Hide: Hidden Crimes in Plain Sight Because sometimes the truth isn’t hidden at all. It’s hiding where nobody thinks to look.