Nearly three weeks of trial, 39 witnesses, and just over five hours of jury deliberation returned a unanimous guilty verdict in the case of murdered British backpacker Grace Millane.
Grace Millane's murderer told her he was the manager of an oil company - but in reality he had lost his job the day they met and he was in the process of applying for a customer service position.
The British backpacker was murdered in the first weekend of Decemberlast year by a man she met on a Tinder date.
She would have turned 22 on December 2 but it is likely she was dead before then.
Grace Millane was killed on the eve of her 22nd birthday by her Tinder date in Auckland. Photo / Supplied
A 27-year-old Auckland man was convicted of her murder on Friday following a three- week trial in the High Court at Auckland.
A copy of his CV has been provided to the Herald, showing he was seeking a role as a customer service manager job at a property management company.
His application was dated a week before Millane was strangled to death.
In the CV the murderer described himself as an accomplished problem solver who had a unique mix of business and technical expertise with a Masters of Business Administration from Sydney University in his CV.
He also stated he attended high school in Sydney.
The Herald understands that is not true - he moved to Australia in about 2013 and lived there for three years before returning to settle in Auckland in 2016.
In his CV the killer said he was "successful in building great team culture and motivating a dynamic team to success".
He went on to boast he was "organised and diligent, with excellent written, oral and interpersonal skills".
The then-26-year-old further claimed to be contracted to both an architectural firm and an events company as a business manager and business consultant.
His responsibilities included organising and executing business projects on behalf of the managing director, and also to meet with key leaders to perform initial assessment of problematic situations.
However, he was never interviewed because the would-be employer felt something was amiss in his CV.
Grace Millane's killer at the trial. Photo / File.
"One of the schools where he claimed to have attended in Sydney doesn't even exist, and someone with an MBA would never have applied for this position," said the employer, who spoke to the Herald on the condition of anonymity.
"The CV was just full of lies, and it really just looks like it's been written by someone who's trying to make themselves look way smarter than they really are."
The man also did not give any dates on when he obtained his degrees, which also included a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in business law.
The Herald understands the murderer did not attend university.
He was educated in the wider Wellington area and worked in bars and doing labouring work before he fell out with his family.
A source said ongoing dishonesty led to him being effectively cut off from his family unless he sought professional help.
His stepbrother said he was a "pathological liar" - a claim backed during the trial when the killer's tall tales of cancer, dead parents, having his own child, being a six figure-earning executive and a relation of an All Black with gang and police connections were revealed.
The potential employer said the company had "quite a few female employees" and shuddered at the thought that the killer could have been working with them.
"When I put two and two together and realised that Grace Millane's killer and the person who applied for the job, it made my hair stand," he said.
In his CV, the man said he was a resourceful executive manager with a drive to cut cost and boost revenue, and was a top performer with a high level of technological sophistication.
He claims to also had been working for a large supermarket chain in Sydney as general manager for business development and business operations manager.
There, he said his responsibilities included identifying trendsetter ideas through research, proposing potential business deals and screen potential business deals.
Millane met her murderer on Tinder on November 30 and the pair agreed to meet the next day.
The next night they visited a number of bars in the CBD and consumed multiple drinks.
CCTV showed the pair laughing, chatting, kissing and hugging before going into the CityLife building where the killer lived in a small apartment.
Millane was murdered soon after.
The Crown say the 27-year-old strangled Millane to death and then purchased a suitcase, contorted her naked body inside, drove it to the Waitakere Ranges and buried it in a shallow grave.
The man denied the charged of murder but conceded Millane died in his room and he disposed of her body.
He says he panicked and his actions after she died - including Google searches for "hottest fire", Waitākere Ranges, large bags and rigor mortis; watching multiple porn videos; going on another Tinder date and cleaning the scene of death - were the result of shock and fear.
After hearing from more than 30 witnesses the jury of seven women and five men reached a unanimous guilty verdict and the man was convicted of murder.
He will be sentenced in February.
The penalty for murder in New Zealand is life in prison.
