(eerie music)
- [Narrator] What is EWU crew?
Today, we are going to be covering a story
so chilling, it will make you think twice
about who you believe you can trust.
It is the case of Jesse Shane Kempson.
If you enjoy true crime, mysteries, and true stories
be sure to hit the like button and subscribe.
Now, let's get into it.
Jesse was born and raised in the Wellington region
of New Zealand with his parents,
though they eventually divorced
when he was only nine years old.
Following his parents' separation,
Jesse spent the majority of his childhood
with his father and his paternal grandfather,
as his mother had moved overseas.
when his father remarried.
In his early adulthood,
Jesse attended Aotea College and even played softball
at a regional level for a variety of teams.
When he wasn't attending classes or playing softball,
Jesse spent his time bartending when he could.
In fact, when Jesse lived in Sydney, Australia
between 2013 and 2016, he made a living bartending
and working in construction in general labor.
To his family, he appeared to be a hard-working young man
who had a taste for the fun things in life.
But, no one seemed to know exactly
how Jesse defined fun.
To everyone else in his life,
Jesse was widely regarded as an enigma of sorts.
Acquaintances who were familiar with Jesse
said that he often claimed to have received
his bachelor's degree in international law
from Aotea College,
and that he had originally come from money.
In fact, it is said that Jesse used to claim
to have come from a family of millionaires
who owned restaurant chains in Sydney,
and that he was in touch with a variety of vague contacts
that worked in New Zealand immigration.
After his stay in Sydney,
Jesse ended up moving back to New Zealand
and to Greenlane and Mt. Eden
with a few other young adults
who were on the cusp of starting
their respective professional careers.
Jesse's old roommates claim
that Jesse often engaged
in disturbing, untrustworthy behavior,
and was known to be a bit of a pathological liar.
In his early twenties, like many other adults his age,
Jesse became rather obsessed with using dating apps.
And, perhaps, one could refer to Jesse's addiction
to dating apps as quite a deadly obsession.
In December of 2018, Jesse found himself scrolling
through Tinder in search of a date,
as he frequently did.
While doing so, Jesse came across the profile
of a young woman named Grace Millane.
Grace was originally from Wickford, Essex
and had recently graduated
from the University of Lincoln.
After obtaining her bachelor's degree in advertising
and marketing, Grace decided to take a gap year
before applying to grad schools.
And, in doing so, she also decided to spend the majority
of her gap year traveling
and going on a backpacking tour
to make the most of the experience.
After backpacking through South America for six weeks,
Grace decided to choose a new route for the next two weeks
of her trip.
On November 20th, 2018, Grace entered New Zealand
and by the 30th of the month, she made her way to Auckland.
As Grace's birthday was just days away,
she intended to spend her time
in Auckland's central business district
to celebrate on her own.
Or, perhaps, not entirely on her own.
On December 1st, the very eve before Grace's birthday,
she coincidentally came across Jesse Kempson's profile
on Tinder and, finding him attractive, swiped right.
The two ended up matching
and proceeded to have a conversation
that quickly turned into the pair making plans
to meet up for a date.
That very same evening, Jesse and Grace met in person
for the date as they had discussed.
As seen on the CCTV footage from the SkyCity building,
the two embraced in a hug while exchanging pleasantries
and introductions around 5:45 PM.
Then, the two proceed to head up the escalator
to the second floor of the building,
where they would come to make their first stop
of the evening, a restaurant called Andy's Burgers and Bar.
Once Jesse and Grace entered the bar,
they can be seen on CCTV footage
grabbing a couple of menus
before ultimately picking a table
just out of the camera's view
to enjoy a few drinks and appetizers.
And, just over an hour later,
the two are caught on camera again
as they leave Andy's to head off to their next destination.
They proceeded to leave the SkyCity building
and head out onto Federal Street,
where they ultimately ended up deciding
to enter another establishment called The Mexican Cafe.
While at The Mexican Cafe,
Grace and Jesse spent about an hour drinking
around three jugs total of margaritas and sangria.
Jesse can be seen covering the pair's tab
before they ultimately move on
to their third and final drink spot for the evening,
The Bluestone Room.
Around 8:30 PM, just moments after they entered
the establishment, Jesse and Grace are caught on camera
kissing passionately at least three different times.
It appeared to those around them
as though their date was going well,
and that the two of them seemed incapable
of keeping their hands off of each other.
And then, things took a turn for the worse.
At around 9:20, Grace can be seen excusing herself
from the pub table to presumably use the restroom.
As she did so, she ended up leaving her purse behind
with Jesse, hoping that he would look after it respectfully
while she was gone.
Except that is not at all what happened.
CCTV footage captures the moment
that Jesse actually reaches across the table
to grab Grace's purse and search through it.
Finding whatever he had been in search for,
Jesse slips what we assume to be some cash into his pocket
from Grace's handbag before she returns to the table.
And, as concerning as that was,
it did not end there.
Once the two exit The Bluestone Room,
they can be seen walking down the street
until they ultimately end up at the CityLife Hotel
on Queen Street around 9:40 PM.
Jesse and Grace proceeded to book a room
for themselves to spend the night together
and were even captured
getting into the CityLife Hotel elevator from the lobby
just moments later.
Once the two arrived on the third floor
of the hotel building, they exited the elevator
and presumably headed off to the room they reserved.
And unfortunately, that CCTV footage from mere hours
before her birthday was the last time anyone
ever saw Grace Millane alive.
The first indication
that something had gone horribly wrong
was when Grace failed to respond
to her parents' text messages and calls
in which they intended to wish her a happy birthday.
Not only was that kind of behavior regarded as rude
in her household,
it was also completely out of Grace's character.
As the entirety of December 2nd, 2018
came and went and Grace's parents
still had not heard from her,
they knew that something must have happened.
Wanting to ensure that they did not overreact,
they waited three total days
before contacting Auckland police
and reporting Grace missing.
While Grace's parents tried tirelessly
to get into contact with their daughter,
Jesse rented a red Toyota Corolla hatchback
from a rental car company in central Auckland.
By the time Grace was officially reported
as a missing person, a public appeal was issued
and all of Auckland was on high alert
in search for the foreign backpacker
who seemed to have vanished into thin air.
But, what really happened to Grace Millane
after she stepped off of the elevator at the SkyCity Hotel?
According to Jesse,
he and Grace had engaged in rough intercourse
that ultimately went too far,
resulting in Grace being choked to death at Jesse's hands.
But, according to Jesse's own phone records,
something else happened entirely.
Evidence was found that proved
Jesse had taken intimate photographs of Grace's
lifeless body after having killed her.
Then, instead of reacting in a panic, as he would have
if her death had been an accident as he claimed,
Jesse proceeded to search for disturbing content online
while Grace's body lay at his feet.
Then, Jesse looked up the Waitakere Ranges,
a rural location just a 45-minute drive away from the hotel.
As we mentioned, Jesse rented a car
while Grace's parents tried to determine
if their daughter was in danger.
But before he did so,
he was seen at a local store
purchasing a large suitcase with wheels.
Then, Jesse made his way back to the hotel
to drop off the suitcase before heading back out
to purchase various cleaning products.
After successfully renting a car
and returning back to the hotel room to drop off
the rest of his purchases, Jesse is captured on CCTV
later the very same afternoon
meeting up with another woman at a bar.
The other woman, authorities concluded,
was another date that Jesse had arranged on Tinder.
All while Grace's lifeless body
remained on the floor of Jesse's hotel room.
While on the date,
the woman who has remained unnamed
claimed that Jesse made a comment that, quote,
"Police dogs cannot smell dead bodies
if they are buried more than four feet in the ground."
Later that very evening, Jesse was once again spotted
on the camera in the hotel's elevator,
borrowing a dolly to move two suitcases out of the hotel,
one of which contained Grace's naked body
that Jesse had folded into a fetal position until it fit.
Jesse then proceeded to exit the elevator
on the first floor and roll the dolly
out of the hotel's glass doors.
He is seen loading the suitcases
into the red Toyota that he had rented earlier in the day.
After doing so, he returned the dollies to the hotel,
and exits once more before driving away
from the scene of the crime with Grace's body in tow.
Jesse ended up burying the suitcase with Grace's body
in a shallow grave in a forest area near Scenic Drive
in the Waitakere Ranges, the same location
he had been looking into just moments after taking her life.
And, by the time anyone had realized that Grace was missing,
Jesse was already returning to his normal routine.
On December 7th, Grace's father, David,
was able to fly into Aukland
to demand information and answers from local police.
At that moment, police had also managed to identify
a male companion that they believe to be with Grace
in her last moments, 26-year-old Jesse Shane Kempson.
Later the very next day,
Jesse was taken in for questioning
regarding Grace Millane's disappearance.
Throughout the questioning,
it was clear that Jesse could not directly answer questions
regarding the suitcase that he was seen carrying on CCTV.
After the interrogation with Jesse,
police publicly announced
that they were treating the disappearance
as a murder investigation,
and Jesse was formally charged with Grace's murder.
At the time, due to New Zealand law,
his name was not publicly released.
After further investigation,
police were able to locate Grace's remains
in the Waitakere Ranges shortly after 4:00 PM
on December 9th, 2018, a little over a week after her death.
Jesse Shane Kempson was on trial three separate times.
During the first trial,
Jesse was convicted of murdering Grace Millane
in December of 2018.
He was then sentenced to 17 years in prison.
At his second trial,
Jesse was found guilty of quote,
"Sexual, physical, and financial abuse
of a former girlfriend",
who had stepped forward
after seeing Jesse's name in the news
for the murder of Grace Millane.
Jesse's ex-girlfriend claimed
that Jesse had tried to kill her in January of 2017,
stating that he had chased her around the house
with a knife and choked her into submission
before forcing himself onto her.
At the end of this trial,
Jesse was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
Finally, at his third trial,
he was found guilty of assaulting a woman.
This woman, like Grace, had actually met Jesse on Tinder
and stepped forward after hearing of Grace's murder.
At the conclusion of this trial,
Jesse was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
To add to the tragedy of this case,
Grace Millane's father, David,
recently succumbed to cancer
two years after his beloved daughter died.
Jesse Shane Kempson's story is a chilling one,
and one that will hopefully remind you
to be careful who you spend your time with,
as monsters lurk around every corner.
(eerie music)