British backpacker Grace Millane was allegedly strangled to death by a man she met on Tinder, prosecutors have told a New Zealand court, in a case that has shocked the country.
The 22-year-old, who was travelling after finishing university, went missing in Auckland on 1 December.
The accused, a 27-year-old man, met Ms Millane on the evening of 1 December through dating app Tinder, the jury heard.
CCTV cameras filmed the pair kissing before heading to the man's hotel apartment, prosecutor Robin McCoubrey told the Auckland court.
Mr McCoubrey said the Crown's case was that Ms Millane died in the accused's apartment from sustained pressure to the neck.
Her body also showed bruising to her chest and upper arms, the court heard.
The accused, whose name has been suppressed by the court, has pleaded not guilty to murder.
"Only two people know what happened in that room," Mr McCoubrey told the court.
"One of them can't tell us and the other one hasn't told the truth about what happened," he added.
Mr McCoubrey said the accused took several photos of Ms Millane's body on 2 December.
Later that day, he placed the body "in the foetal position" in a suitcase and drove it in a hire car to the Waitakere Ranges where he buried her, the jury heard.
Mr McCoubrey told the court the accused initially told police he had met Ms Millane for a drink before parting ways with her, but then changed his story, saying he and Ms Millane went back to his apartment and where they engaged in "rough sex".
The accused insisted he did not realise Ms Millane had died and had a shower before going back to bed.
"'I woke up the next day and saw that she was lying on the floor. I saw that she had blood coming from her nose'," Mr McCoubrey quoted the defendant as saying.
The accused's lawyer, Ian Brookie, told the jury Ms Millane's death was an accident.
"Ms Millane died as a result of what they consensually engaged in," Mr Brookie was quoted as saying by the New Zealand Herald.
"An act designed to enhance their sexual pleasure that went wrong and she died as a result."
The killing shocked New Zealand, where serious crime was once considered relatively rare and its cities and countryside considered safe.
It also sparked intense debate about New Zealand's record on violence against women.
Thousands of people held candlelight vigils after Ms Millane's death in a national outpouring of grief.
Her parents, David and Gillian Millane, were present in court.
The trial is expected to last about five weeks.
Additional reporting: PA
