THE step brother of Grace Millane's killer has begged forgiveness from her family, saying his sibling "doesn’t have a shred of decency inside him".

The murderer was today convicted of strangling the British backpacker to death during sex and burying the 21-year-old in a suitcase in Auckland last year.

Despite the guilty verdict the 27-year-old killer's identity can still not be revealed for legal reasons.

His shocked sibling has said how details of Grace's gruesome death on December 1, 2018, must have been "incredibly hard" on the family.

'JUSTICE WAS SERVED'

He said he "shed a few tears" on hearing of the conviction.

"So glad for Grace's family," he told the New Zealand Herald.

"It doesn't make anything better, but [it's] good to know the jury and New Zealand justice system made the right call."

The three-week trial heard intimate details of Grace's sex life that went into minute detail about the final night of her life after meeting her killer on a Tinder date.

Jurors rejected the defence claim that the death was accidental and occurred during rough sexual intercourse.

A three-week trial at Auckland High Court heard that the murderer was a fantasist who would tell potential sexual partners that he had celebrity connections, had been orphaned and even had cancer.

It also emerged he was an incessant liar who "fell out with everybody and was shunned by family for stealing", the Herald reported.

'JUST TERRIBLE'

His sibling agreed his brother was a "pathological liar".

"[He] lies over pointless things and continues to lie until the point where he's got no out, absolutely no out, and then he breaks downs and cries and runs away," he told One News.

"But he can't do it any more, thankfully, just absolutely terrible that a life had to be lost because of that."

Despite the unanimous verdict of murder, the sibling says he didn't think it was his intention to take Grace's life.

"It's in that moment, yes he had the opportunity and he kept going and took Grace's life," he said.

He doesn't have any shred of a decent human being inside of him and couldn't just confess to the fact that he murdered her."

"I don't think it's a violence thing. To me, I think it was power. It was just in a split moment, he enjoyed the power and kept going."

But he said the tears shed by his stepbrother in front of police were more "tears for himself" than for Millane.

The killer's father – his stepfather – would be "in pieces" after sitting through the trial, he said.

He also paid tribute to the Millane family, who were in tears as they spoke after Friday's verdict.

"I'm just so incredibly sorry for their loss," he said.

"To know it's one of our family members, even though it's not from our actions, is very difficult and I can't imagine the pain and hurt and what they've got to go through court, hearing all the stuff about BDSM and all the actions… it's just so ridiculous."

"And to me that's because he doesn't have any shred of a decent human being inside of him and couldn't just confess to the fact that he murdered her."

Grace's killer is due to be sentenced in February next year.

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