The man accused of murdering British backpacker Grace Millane in New Zealand has pleaded not guilty.
The 27-year-old man appeared in Auckland’s High Court on Wednesday (NZ time) and is now expected to stand trial on November 4.
He appeared for 10 minutes and spoke only to answer to the charge of murder. The ban on identifying the man in New Zealand remains in place until the end of this month.
Twenty-two-year-old Grace was found dead in a forest west of Auckland in December.
Police initially launched a missing person inquiry for the University of Lincoln graduate after her parents became concerned that she did not reply to birthday wishes sent on December 2.
Since arriving in New Zealand from Peru on November 20, she had been in near-daily contact with her family, officers said.
The last confirmed sighting of Ms Millane, from Essex, was at 9.41pm on December 1, at the Citylife Hotel, when she was seen with a "male companion".
Following the graduate’s death, her family released a statement in which they said “in some way she will forever be a Kiwi.”
Her family said: "Grace went off to travel the world in mid-October and arrived in New Zealand on the 20th November.
"By the amount of pictures and messages we received, she clearly loved this country, its people and the lifestyle.
"We all hope that what has happened to Grace will not deter even one person from venturing out into the world and discovering their own OE (overseas experience)."
New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern gave an emotional apology to Ms Millane's family after her death, saying: "Your daughter should have been safe here, and she wasn't, and I'm sorry for that."
"I cannot imagine the grief of her family and what they would be experiencing and feeling right now."
