Disturbing ‘rough sex’ defence to be explored in new documentary on murder of Grace Millane

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find upsetting

A documentary maker is set to explore the disturbing 'rough sex' defence used in the murder trial of British woman Grace Millane.

A new documentary is being released about the ‘rough sex’ defence, in tribute of Grace Millane, who was murdered whilst travelling in New Zealand by a man she met on Tinder.

The trip on the other side of the world was to celebrate her 22nd birthday, but on 2 December 2018, her family's messages and phone calls were not responded to.

Lucie Blackman Trust

Grace was murdered by Jesse Kempson, a 26-year-old who strangled her during sex in a hotel room, consequently leading to her death.

Kempson claims that the sex between the pair was consensual, but just went very badly wrong.

In the morning after she was killed, Kempson went to buy a suitcase and buried her body in bushland in an area called Waitakere Ranges.

The new documentary, The Murder Of Grace Millane, looks into the complexities of the trial, with a particular focus on the ‘rough sex’ defence and how Grace was almost blamed by some for going back to a hotel room after a first date.

With blessing from Grace’s family, filmmaker Helena Coan and Detective Inspector Scott Beard - the lead investigator on the case - have made a documentary that explores how ‘men are getting away with’ crimes because of this defence, and the victims are often never there to tell their story because they have been killed.

Kempson was found guilty and was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years in prison.

Talking to Sky News, Helena Coan said: “I've been in that position and probably every woman in the history of the world has been in that position, on a new date with someone that you don't really know.

“We’re excited to be there. She was just a normal young woman who absolutely didn't deserve what was about to happen to her."

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The film features a range of evidence for Grace’s case, including Kempson looking through her bag on their date, searching for porn on the internet just hours after he had killed her, as well as searching for Waitakere Ranges, which is where he eventually buried her body.

He also took photos of her and didn’t at any point take action and call emergency services.

Campaigners are worried about this defence, as it can sometimes lead to a reduced sentence for perpetrators if the jury think that the killing was never intentional, and purely a result of rough sex gone wrong.

Coan continued: “Men are getting away with the most heinous, manipulative, planned, premeditated crimes. And they are saying, basically, 'she asked for it'.

"It's scary to see how lawyers use this defence and how juries still buy into this idea, that a woman can consent to being strangled to death."

The filmmaker points out that it takes five to 10 minutes to actually kill someone via strangulation, saying: “That's not pleasure. That's murder."