GUILTY New Zealand - Yanfei Bao, 44, Real Estate Agent - Christchurch, South Island 19 July 2023 *arrest*

[kiwi50]

Trial starts today.

Who killed Christchurch estate agent Yanfei Bao? High-profile trial starts today

A Chinese national denies her killing and will face trial in Christchurch.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[vls12345]

Yanfei Bao: Court hears possible motive in agent's murder

Chinese national Tingjun Cao is on trial in the High Court in Christchurch for the murder of the real estate agent in 2023.

www.rnz.co.nz

 

[vls12345]

The Waikato Times

www.waikatotimes.co.nz

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Prosecutors argue that Tingjun Cao used Bao’s efforts to help him to stage a situation in which he lured her to a house in Hornby and killed her.

Until now, Paul Gooch has not spoken publicly about his partner of five years except to publicly appeal for information at the time of her disappearance.

Then he told people to “go home tonight and tell all those you hold dear that you love and cherish them”.

The Waikato Times

www.waikatotimes.co.nz

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Tingjun Cao does not speak English, and a Mandarin translator was assisting him during the trial.

The trial was due to get underway at 10am Tuesday, with the first witnesses due to speak to the court.

Justice Lisa Preston said that the logistics of translating and relaying yesterday's opening addresses, and the Judge's opening remarks, had not yet been able to be completed.

She said the trial would restart at 12pm.

Yanfei Bao: Delay in murder trial amid translation issues

The start of the trial in the High Court at Christchurch was now expected to get underway at 12pm.

www.rnz.co.nz

 

[SouthAussie]

The accused has decided to not appear in the courtroom, which is his right apparently.
I read in one of the previous linked articles that he has a wife and children in China. I wonder if he is trying to limit his exposure. Guessing he will be listening via an A/V link, with a translator.


Justice Preston told the jury the law permitted the trial to proceed in Cao's absence, but if that was to occur there were some logistical arrangements that needed to be put in place to continue a fair trial.

"It's important you understand that no adverse inference is to be drawn by his absence from the courtroom. His absence is certainly not an admission of guilt and does not advance the prosecution case in any sense," she said.

Cao's trial is set down for six weeks.

Yanfei Bao murder trial: Accused waives right to appear in courtroom

Tingjun Cao has indicated he does not want to be present at his High Court trial.

www.rnz.co.nz

 

[SouthAussie]

There is some testimony in this article from Yanfei's partner, who testified yesterday.
He is not the father of Yanfei's daughter but he hopes that she can continue to reside with him.


There was also a testy exchange between Gooch and the accused man's defence lawyer.
Eason repeated a question and referred to Bao as being missing.
Gooch angrily replied: "Her mother is not missing, she is dead."

Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao murder trial: Partner gives evidence

Paul Gooch has told the court when he first realised Bao was missing.

www.rnz.co.nz

 

[SouthAussie]

Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao told a friend a month before she disappeared that she was being chased by a man she rejected, a court has heard.

QI said Bao told her she had rejected the man and told him she had a husband and family, but the man told her that he "doesn't care".

......

Cao came to New Zealand on his own, but he had talked about plans for his wife and children to join him, Xu said.
Xu met Bao through her being the real estate agent for a property he purchased.
He said Cao went to meet with Bao on his behalf to pay for the property while he was away in China.

Yanfei Bao told friend she was being chased by man she rejected month before she disappeared

The real estate agent was last seen heading to show a house to a prospective client, where the Crown says she was stabbed to death.

www.rnz.co.nz

 

[SouthAussie]

On Thursday afternoon, while hearing evidence from builder Mervin Boclot about him seeing Bao on Trevor St the morning she disappeared, Cao shot up, exclaimed in Mandarin that the evidence was not the truth, and stormed out the courtroom in front of the jury.

He returned a short time later and sat in the dock for the remainder of the day. As the jury left the courtroom for the day he stood up, tore some documents up and threw them. On Friday morning, Cao did not re-emerge from the cells as the trial continued.

Interpreters in court wore headsets and relayed the evidence to him through headphones.

The Press

www.thepress.co.nz

 

[Via Marple]

Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao told a friend a month before she disappeared that she was being chased by a man she rejected, a court has heard.

QI said Bao told her she had rejected the man and told him she had a husband and family, but the man told her that he "doesn't care".

......

Cao came to New Zealand on his own, but he had talked about plans for his wife and children to join him, Xu said.
Xu met Bao through her being the real estate agent for a property he purchased.
He said Cao went to meet with Bao on his behalf to pay for the property while he was away in China.

Yanfei Bao told friend she was being chased by man she rejected month before she disappeared

The real estate agent was last seen heading to show a house to a prospective client, where the Crown says she was stabbed to death.

www.rnz.co.nz

From this link at Rnz... Amazing makeover for the suspect

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I think he should have stuck with his first look, kind of student like.
The new look makes him look like a hard man.

 

[musicaljoke]

From this link at Rnz... Amazing makeover for the suspect

View attachment 540575View attachment 540576

He's wearing a wig in court? No one's hair grows that much in two months.

 

[musicaljoke]

I think he should have stuck with his first look, kind of student like.
The new look makes him look like a hard man.

The long hair is the new look, if the dates on the photos are correct.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Oh is the first photo how he is now ?

I just assumed the first photo was before and the second one now.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I suppose if I was in court charged with something bad I would want to make the best impression that I could.
The new look may have been his lawyers idea.

The behaviour in court most likely didn't help him one bit though.

 

[SouthAussie]

"The day after Yanfei Bao disappeared in July last year, her phone was found discarded alongside Christchurch’s Southern Motorway.

Detective Joel Syme said: "Data indicated that prior to it being found by police, Ms Bao's cell phone had been polling at Halswell Village and Tai Tapu cell towers.

"Cao's vehicle had been seen on traffic cameras in the same or similar areas at the time Cao's cell phone was polling in those areas."

Police sought a special warrant to keep an eye on the defendant."

Yanfei Bao trial: Phone tracing evidence heard in court

Signals from Bao's phone matched locations of her alleged killer's vehicle on the day she disappeared, the High Court has heard.

www.1news.co.nz

 

[SouthAussie]

"Farm owner Craig Eggleston has given evidence at the murder trial of Tingjun Cao, that he saw an unknown vehicle leaving his property just after 5pm on July 19 last year.

He told the court, "[It’s] not the type of vehicle that would usually be on the farm. Anybody that would come on the farm would normally call or meet rather than just drive in."

He called his wife, after watching it slowly drive away and she saw it too.

Referring to a map, he showed the court where the tyre tracks led to.

Constable Josh Yeoman spoke about retracing steps on multiple days.
“There was so much rain, there was a lot of surface water, so we were just trying to go back multiple times once those water levels had dropped ...... "

Yanfei Bao trial: Farmer tells of seeing car where she was later found

A year before the real estate agent's body was recovered from a rural property in Christchurch, the owner of the land followed strange car tracks.

www.1news.co.nz

 

[SouthAussie]

This one is from Tuesday ... another outburst.

"The 53-year-old, who doesn’t speak English, stood up and began signalling towards his lawyers and waving papers around, before yelling in Mandarin.

The outburst followed evidence from the owner of a New Brighton hardware store ....
"I thought he wanted something to fold up, but no, that wasn't it.
"He then indicated, sort of a digging motion."
The owner said he was still confused until the man then "clearly indicated he wanted to dig a hole". "

Yanfei Bao accused's latest outburst during spade purchase evidence

Tingjun Cao, who denies murdering the real estate agent, once again appeared unhappy with court proceedings this afternoon.

www.1news.co.nz

 

[SouthAussie]

No court today. Due to Cao's physical health. I wonder if he has been trying to self harm.


"The position is that Mr Cao's physical health this morning is such that I have reached the view it's not appropriate to continue evidence today."

It follows the murder-accused appearing in court with a large bandage on his neck and another on his hand earlier in the week.

Trial adjourned for man accused of Yanfei Bao's murder

Justice Lisa Preston called the jury into the High Court in Christchurch to give them the update.

www.1news.co.nz

 

[SouthAussie]

Sounds like Yanfei experienced a very violent death.


Blood stains found at a Christchurch house matched the profiles of real estate agent Yanfei Bao and the man accused of her murder, the High Court has heard.

ESR forensic scientist Wendy Janes told the court the blood was not visible to the human eye but luminol testing revealed stains on walls, curtains, doors and carpet that matched their DNA profiles.

Cao, who is representing himself after sacking his defence lawyers, has been warned by Justice Preston over the nature of some of his questions, including repeatedly accusing police witnesses of falsifying evidence.

Yanfei Bao murder trial: Court hears about DNA evidence relating to blood stains

Blood stains found at a Christchurch house matched the profiles of real estate agent Yanfei Bao and the man accused of her murder, the High Court has heard.

www.rnz.co.nz