Why was killer’s history hidden from jurors, but not Millane’s?

Stuff reports:

While the jurors heard from four of his previous dates, the police spoke to other young women who did not end up giving evidence at trial.

Many of those young women spoke of a man who had an interest in violent sex and a tendency to “switch” when his sexual advances were turned down.

Stuff can now report the evidence for the first time, following the man’s conviction.

The Crown sought to have the 10 women and one man give evidence, arguing it showed the man had a pattern of behaviour over the two and-a-half year period before he killed Grace. …

In a pre-trial ruling in August, Justice Simon Moore ruled evidence from nine of the 11 witnesses was relevant.

“What emerges from many of the women’s accounts is the independent portrayal of [the man] as unusually needy, demanding and insecure,” Justice Moore said.

Despite having met some of the women only a handful of times, the killer expected “emotional support and nourishment”.

“He is possessive and overbearing towards women he barely knows… When the recipients display understandable discomfort, even shock, at what is frankly bizarre, clumsy and narcissistic conduct or otherwise try to distance themselves from him, [the man] reacts in anger and professes betrayal.”

Thankfully the jury made the right decision anyway, but I can only agree with Justice Moore that the Polise should have been able to introduce evidence from his previous dates or relationships.

It seems grossly unfair that poor Grace Millane had her previous dates trawled through court, while he had his mainly protected.

Justice Moore said her evidence was an example of the killer’s “narcissistic emotional blackmail” that he used in an attempt to win affection from women.

“It shows [the killer’s] tendency to believe he is entitled to the emotional nurturing of women he meets through Tinder and his tendency to react aggressively and unpredictably when that nurturing is not forthcoming.”

And if the Police had been able to use this evidence, it would have been a compelling alternative theory to the defence case that it was kinky sex gone wrong. Again thanks goodness the jury got there anyway.

The judge said the evidence could be relevant if the jurors accepted the man saw Grace as a source of “emotional solace and nurture”. 

He said if Grace then became uncomfortable and tried to leave his apartment, the evidence from the former dates could support a theory that the man became violent.

Of the 11 witness, Justice Moore ruled nine would be allowed to give evidence.

However, the man’s lawyers appealed Justice Moore’s pre-trial ruling to the Court of Appeal.

We don’t yet know why the Court of Appeal ruled as they did. But again it seems grossly unfair that the laws of evidence allowed Grace Millane’s sexual past to be used against her to paint a theory helpful to the defence, but the killer’s sexual past was ruled largely off limits.

Based on all the reports that have now come out about this guy, I suspect it was only a matter of time until his violence and narcissism led to him killing someone. If it wasn’t Grace, it probably would have been someone else later.