A young woman has told the jury in the Grace Millane murder trial that she feared for her life after the man accused of killing the British tourist cut off her oxygen supply while they were engaged in a sexual act.
The woman says she was kicking with “all her might” in an effort to breathe but the man had her pinned down.
She says she even tried to feign passing out so he might realise something was wrong.
The university student, who has name suppression, told the court that she hooked up with the man through the dating app Tinder.
They met up in Auckland’s CBD and drank for some hours in his CityLife hotel room before engaging in a sexual act.
She was in tears when she told the jury she was terrified that she might die that way.
But under cross examination, the woman denied she was exaggerating the whole story.
The woman says she met the defendant at the CityLife hotel 10 days before his date with the British tourist.
The pair continued messaging the next couple of days without any mention of the choking incident.
The woman says she didn’t bring it up because she was scared he could turn up in her life at any time.
She says he lied to her, telling her he had cancer.
She says she had no intention of meeting up with him again despite the man’s lawyer saying she was stringing him along with her messages.
The woman was one of three who gave evidence in the High Court in Auckland about Tinder dates with the man accused of killing Ms Millane.
Another woman, who also can't be identified, says she met up with the defendant at the CityLife hotel in central Auckland in November last year, 10 days before his date with Ms Millane on December 1.
In a day of scientific evidence, experts said there was proof the defendant was attempting to cover his tracks.
The woman says after a number of drinks the date got intimate, with the defendant using one hand to choke her.
The witness said the act was consensual, and afterwards she left with no issues.
The Crown alleges the defendant murdered Ms Millane by way of strangulation.
The defence team argue her death was an accident after he applied pressure to her neck during rough sex with her consent and encouragement.
Her body was discovered in a suitcase buried in bush in the Waitakere Ranges eight days later.
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