The man who murdered British backpacker Grace Millane has had his bid to overturn his conviction and sentence rejected by the Court of Appeal.
However, he still cannot be named, after his last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court to keep his name secret.
In the trial for the murder of Grace Millane, the defence argued - unsuccessfully - that strangulation was consensual. Photo: RNZ / YouTube
The 28-year-old strangled Millane to death in his Auckland apartment on the eve of her 22nd birthday in December 2018.
He was found guilty of murder after a highly-publicised trial last year and later jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years.
The man took his case to the Court of Appeal in August - arguing he did not receive a fair trial and his jail sentence was too harsh.
The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against both his conviction and sentence.
In the decision, Justice Kos said the trial judge in the High Court - Justice Moore - was right when he sentenced the man and said Millane was in a particularly vulnerable position at the time of her death.
"It really is very difficult to imagine much greater vulnerability than the situation Ms Millane found herself in on the evening of Saturday, 1 December 2018," Justice Kos said.
"Intoxicated, in a strange hotel room, naked, in the arms of a comparative stranger with whom she thought she had 'clicked' (and could therefore trust), and with his hands around her throat. Unable to cry out, unable to breathe, lapsing into unconsciousness."
Justice Kos said the man's callousness was also demonstrated by his actions: "His attitude to the likely struggles of Ms Millane (but certain lapsing into unconsciousness), his disregard for her condition when he went then to take a shower, his failure to call for assistance when appreciating her condition."
Justice Kos said the man's actions were not just inexcusable: "they are also indicative of a degree of wholly self-regarding wickedness throughout the incident and its aftermath".
The man has already indicated he is likely to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
In a statement, released via police, the Millane family said they were pleased with the Court of Appeal's decision.
"Grace was a kind, fun-loving daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, aunty, cousin and friend with her whole life ahead of her," the family said.
"She was enjoying the first of what would have been a lifetime of adventures before her life was so cruelly and brutally cut short by her murderer.
"Her sense of fun, her sense of adventure, her love of travel and exploring, along with her ability to light up any room she walked into with her generosity of spirit, are memories we as a family cherish and how we will forever remember her.
"Although the focus will inevitably be on the outcome of today's legal process, as a family our hearts and our love will always be with our beautiful Grace."
Originally from Essex, Millane had been travelling in New Zealand on her OE when she disappeared from Auckland's CBD on the eve of her 22nd birthday.
Her family were quick to raise the alarm after birthday messages went unanswered and her father David Millane flew to New Zealand to join the search efforts a few days later.
Police were quick to identify the defendant as the last known person to have contact with her thanks to a wealth of CCTV cameras in the city that captured the pair's movements.
Millane had met the man on a Tinder date and spent an evening bar hopping through the city centre with him before going back to his apartment.
CCTV footage of the pair entering the CityLife apartment complex, the man's arm draped over her shoulder, at 9.40pm was the last time she was seen alive.
The man strangled Millane to death in his apartment that night before contorting her body into a suitcase, burying it in the Waitākere Ranges and then going on another Tinder date.
He also took seven explicit photographs of the young woman's body and searched for pornography on his phone as her body lay in his room.
Whether Millane consented to being strangled, and at what point she may have withdrawn consent, was the central issue at trial.
It was the Crown's case the man strangled Millane while the defence argued her death was accidental after the pair engaged in consensual choking during sex.
Prosecution and defence each called expert witnesses to attest to the time and force required to kill someone by strangulation.
The jury heard both sides agreed it would take at least 90 seconds, as a conservative estimate, and the person being strangled would lose consciousness at some point during this period.
The jury returned a guilty verdict; meaning it found the man recklessly murdered Millane by continuing to strangle her after she passed out.
Millane's parents David and Gillian flew to New Zealand for the trial and sat through all of the evidence.
On his return to England, David Millane was diagnosed with cancer and he died last month.
