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The eerie post from backpacker found dead in New Zealand bush


An eerie Instagram post has emerged from the young English backpacker found dead in New Zealand on the weekend.

Grace Millane, 22, was found dead in a bush on the western outskirts of Auckland, about 25km from where she was last seen on December 1 entering the central CityLife Hotel with a man it is believed she met through a dating app.

The 26-year-old man appeared in court in Auckland on Monday charged with her murder.

British woman Grace Millane went missing on December 1 before she was found dead in a bush on the outskirts of Auckland. Source: Facebook/ Grace Millane
British woman Grace Millane went missing on December 1 before she was found dead in a bush on the outskirts of Auckland. Source: Facebook/ Grace Millane

In an Instagram post on October 23 from her account art_by_millane, Ms Millane pictured artwork of a skull.

“Two can keep a secret, if one of them is dead,” she captioned the picture.

The quote is from TV series Pretty Little Liars – a show about a group of teenage girls who become estranged after one of their friends goes missing.

An Instagram post of Ms Millane before she was found dead in New Zealand. Source: Instagram/ Grace Millane
An Instagram post of Ms Millane before she was found dead in New Zealand. Source: Instagram/ Grace Millane

The art_by_millane account features several paintings from the English advertising student including another of a skull on August 16.

Ms Millane also posted to her personal Instagram and Twitter accounts updates on her trip that took her to Peru before New Zealand as pat of a world tour she had embarked on since graduating from University.

She tweeted on November 30 – the day before she went missing, and two days before her 22nd birthday.

“I think travelling has changed me,” she tweeted.

“I just brought some blue jeans.”

No plea entered

Court documents say the accused is a resident at the CityLife Hotel on Queen Street and is charged with killing the tourist between December 1 and 2. No occupation was listed.

While police have said Ms Millane and the accused had not previously known each other, they have declined to confirm reports they met through online dating app Tinder. A source confirmed to Stuff the pair did meet on a dating app

Police were due to formally identify the body found and conduct a post-mortem examination on Monday but earlier said they believed it was Ms Millane.

The man is yet to enter a plea and the court has temporarily blocked his name from being published.

Earlier, Ms Millane’s brother Declan posted a tribute to his sister on Instagram and included photos of the pair from their childhood.