The man who strangled the British backpacker Grace Millane to death in his central Auckland apartment will spend at least 17 years behind bars.
The 28-year-old man, whose name remains suppressed, appeared emotionless in the dock as Justice Simon Moore handed down the life sentence in the High Court in Auckland this morning.
Grace Millane's mother, Gillian, sat through the man's entire three-week trial last November, and today via an audio-visual link from the UK, she told the court about the heartbreak she continues to feel over the loss of her only daughter.
RNZ reporter Sarah Robson, who has covered the case, joins Lisa Owen in the studio.
