Her words are too heartbreaking to bear.
By videolink to a New Zealand court from her Essex home, the mother of murdered backpacker Grace Millane told the psychopath who killed her daughter: ‘You have ripped a hole in my heart.’
Bravely, she went on: ‘The terror and pain she must have experienced at your hands . . . as a mother I would have done anything to change places with her. She died terrified and alone in a room with you.’
Grace was a university graduate, bright, full of life, trust and enthusiasm — all qualities we wish for in our children. Many will ask why she ever put her trust in internet dating. But why wouldn’t she?
The murderer was sentenced to life in prison.
Yet Gillian Millane and her family have their own unimaginable life sentence. Even today she still sprays her child’s perfume in her bedroom.
When Grace embarked on her gap year aged 21, her mum and dad, like so many parents, would have been filled with apprehension.
As they waved goodbye to their darling child setting out on her life’s first great solo adventure, they would have been offering last-minute tips — keep your mobile phone charged, check in daily by text, be wary of strangers, don’t do anything stupid.
Never in their worst nightmares could they have anticipated what was going to happen.
After Grace met a man through the dating app Tinder, the couple downed shots together in a bar in Auckland.
He made her feel so comfortable and safe she texted a friend to tell her she had ‘clicked with him so well’.
So much so that she went back to his hotel bedroom. And it was there, less than 24 hours after they’d met, that he snuffed out her life — strangled her then dumped her body in a shallow grave.
Grace was a university graduate, bright, full of life, trust and enthusiasm — all qualities we wish for in our children.
By videolink to a New Zealand court from her Essex home, the mother of murdered backpacker Grace Millane told the psychopath who killed her daughter: ‘You have ripped a hole in my heart’
Many will ask why she ever put her trust in internet dating. But why wouldn’t she?
Millions of people, young and old, use dating apps all the time. Some four million Brits are registered on Tinder alone.
Yes, her death is a tragic lesson in the perils of internet dating, and the most brutal reminder that there are rules to help keep you safe: always meet in a public place, don’t go home with him or to his hotel room, don’t get drunk.
But it also tells us that no amount of caution or advice can equip a child for the randomness of human cruelty.
And this is a fact that Grace’s family accept with such dignity — and generosity.
In the midst of their grief soon after she was killed, they said they would not want her murder to ‘deter even one person from going out in the world and discovering their own unique overseas experience’.
In other words, mothers and fathers should issue their wise words of warning — but they have to let their children go.
You’ve got to admire singer Ellie Goulding, who appeared at the Brits, winning nothing and wearing a scrap of a dress almost as thin and transparent as her talent
Ellie’s a Brit cheeky
You’ve got to admire singer Ellie Goulding, who appeared at the Brits, winning nothing and wearing a scrap of a dress almost as thin and transparent as her talent.
After two decades of dyeing her 100 per cent white hair a peculiar shade of plum every week to stay looking youthful, Sharon Osbourne has finally gone grey.
How odd that she now looks 20 years younger — and fabulous.
Amid the heartbreak of the Storm Dennis floods comes the tale of sheep farmer Faye Russell, 26, who risked her life rescuing her flock from the icy waters in Matlock, Derbyshire.
She plunged in, ropes around her waist held by two friends. Faye managed to save a dozen of her sheep, including lambs.
She is a simple example of the indomitable British spirit — no snowflakes among true farming folk.
Think of your family, Phil
When Phillip Schofield came out as gay on This Morning two weeks ago, he was lauded for his courage — and rightly so.
He said his most painful conversations were with his wife of 27 years, Stephanie, and his two daughters, Molly, 27, and Ruby, 24.
He asked for privacy.
What a surprise, then, that he tweeted a series of images of them all together this week in Paris, the city of love —one arm-in-arm in front of the Eiffel Tower, another in front of a giant neon heart.
It was ill-judged, Phil, during what must be a painful and confusing time for your wife and children.
They are not props to be used to reboot your career.
True mettle of her Maj
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they wanted to be hokey-cokey royals, half in and half out, all our sympathy was directed to the Queen.
At 93, and with her husband Philip ailing, she shouldn’t have to cope with such a personal blow, we thought.
Ever since, Her Maj has shown her true mettle, stopping Megs and Harry from using their HRH titles, denying them the right to flog Buckingham Palace PJs on their website and removing the ‘royal’ from their brand.
As Elizabeth I said before her: ‘I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king.’
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they wanted to be hokey-cokey royals, half in and half out, all our sympathy was directed to the Queen. Meghan is pictured above
Westminster wars
Labour leadership hopefuls Rebecca Long Bailey and Lisa Nandy have signed up to the trans rights pledge, whereby party members would be expelled if they did not agree to the inalienable right for anyone to self-identify as a man or a woman.
Fair enough. But why no instant expulsion for their anti-Semites?
Boris Johnson and his wife of 25 years Marina have quietly divorced and the former Mrs Johnson gets the gold-standard for dignity.
How long before we hear wedding bells and the pitter patter of little Borises in No 10 with his partner Carrie Symonds? A happy ending?
One hopes so — but, as James Goldsmith said, when you marry your mistress, it creates a vacancy.
Home Secretary Priti Patel is accused of bullying her civil servants. One was so distraught after all-night meetings seeking to reverse a High Court ruling barring the deportation of 25 foreign criminals, he collapsed and was found in hospital to have a sodium deficiency.
Pass the smelling salts — civil servants are being forced to work beyond 6pm!
Boris Johnson and his wife of 25 years Marina have quietly divorced and the former Mrs Johnson gets the gold-standard for dignity. How long before we hear wedding bells and the pitter patter of little Borises in No 10 with his partner Carrie Symonds? A happy ending?
I pray that Caroline’s family can find peace
When will the blame game over the suicide of Caroline Flack end?
Was it the bile on social media; the CPS, which insisted on prosecuting her; the Love Island executives who stood by as she stepped down; the TV media; the Press?
The only thing we know for certain is that everyone — particularly her friends, her family and her boyfriend — wish they could have rescued her.
The sad truth is — as I learned when my beloved grandfather killed himself when I was a teenager — no one can save you when you do not want to be saved.
Pop had five devoted children and more than a dozen adoring grandchildren when he jumped to his death after two previous attempts to take his life, and those who loved him eventually came to terms with his decision.
I hope that, one day, people close to the mesmeric, fragile Caroline will also find peace and acceptance.
How did Billie nail social media?
Brilliant new princess of teen angst Billie Eilish collected Best International Female award at the Brits wearing couture Burberry.
Most fascinating were her 2 in Burberry-print fingernails — and her announcement that she’s given up social media because of trolls.
With talons like that, how did she click on social media in the first place?
Most fascinating were her 2 in Burberry-print fingernails — and her announcement that she’s given up social media because of trolls
Perhaps the most depressing story of the week was that Tone Mobile has felt compelled to develop a new £180 ‘child-friendly’ smartphone that deletes inappropriate images, making it impossible for children to post their naked selfies online.
Rod Stewart, 75, was the legendary rock star turn for the Brits finale, his voice failing and the words seemingly forgotten at one point as he sang I Don’t Wanna Talk About It.
And those of us who hold Rod dear in our hearts? We don’t wanna talk about how he can’t sing any more.
Julie Walters says the hardest moment after being diagnosed with stage-three bowel cancer was telling her husband Grant, who cried.
‘I’ll never forget his face,’ she tells us.
After a major operation she’s been given the all-clear and has — in typically, adorably forthright fashion — told us all to go and get checked.
There’s no embarrassment, she says, even doctors have bottoms.
Who could have imagined the downtrodden wife in Educating Rita would now be educating us about this most serious of diseases?
Or that the star of Calendar Girls would become its poster girl?
After a major operation she’s been given the all-clear and has — in typically, adorably forthright fashion — told us all to go and get checked