CCTV footage of Grace Millane's final hours alive will be screened on Thursday at the trial of the 27-year-old man accused of murdering the British backpacker.
The jury of seven women and five men will be shown footage showing the 21-year-old Brit and the man at various central Auckland restaurants and bars on the evening of December 1.
- Grace Millane murder trial: Latest updates as prosecutors, defence present opening arguments
- Grace Millane murder trial: The case that gripped New Zealand
- Grace Millane murder trial: Jury selection to begin
On Monday, the Auckland High Court court heard from Crown prosecutor Robin McCoubrey, who said in his opening statement that Millane and the man now accused of murdering her - who cannot be named - were on a Tinder date before she went missing.
The pair spent several hours strolling around the busy Auckland CBD, visiting restaurants like Andy's Burger Bar, Mexican Cafe, and the Bluestone Room - all caught on the many CCTV cameras in the area.
At one stage, they're seen kissing each other, while Millane also texted a friend to say she was enjoying the date.
"They were plainly comfortable in one another's company that evening," McCoubrey told the jury. Defence lawyer Ian Brookie described it as a fairly typical Saturday night for a young couple.
After their date, at 9:40pm, the pair are seen on CCTV footage entering the CityLife hotel - the last moment the young woman was seen alive in public.
"Only two people know what happened in that room, one of them can't tell us, and the other one hasn't told the truth about what happened," McCoubrey said.
The Crown alleges she was murdered in a hotel apartment, the result of sustained pressure to her neck.
The Defence, however, argues that it was an accident.
Brookie says the pair both consented to trying a form of rough sex, which included placing their hands on each other's necks to restrict breathing. The accused says something went wrong during this, but that he definitely did not have murderous intent.
"[It was an] unforeseen and unintended consequence. Put simply this death was an accident. He certainly didn't murder her," Brookie said.
Various police experts will take the stand on Thursday to guide the jury through the footage and add extra detail to what they are seeing.
Millane's parents, David and Gillian, are expected to return to the High Court on Thursday. They were present throughout Wednesday's proceedings, with a statement of David's read out by McCoubrey following the opening remarks.
In the statement, David described his daughter as "gregarious" with an extremely strong bond with her mother.
The 21-year-old was on her OE when she arrived in New Zealand from South America on November 20. Throughout her journey she regularly kept her parents up-to-date with her latest adventures. One of those updates was a picture of a Christmas tree at SkyCity at 6:30pm on December 1 - only hours before the young woman would die.
Newshub.
