Police acknowledge murder conviction in relation to the death of Yanfei Bao
Wednesday, 4 December 2024 – 5:33pm | Canterbury
Attributable to Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves:
Police acknowledge today’s murder conviction in the High Court in Christchurch in relation to the death of Yanfei Bao.
Since July 2023 Police have been dedicated to seeking a resolution for Yanfei Bao’s family and loved ones. While an arrest was made soon after Yanfei went missing, her body was not located until over a year later.
This was no ordinary case and it will leave a lasting impact on all staff involved including myself. We would like to acknowledge the strength of Yanfei Bao’s family who have endured a terribly distressing experience.
The trial has taken over 6 weeks, during which time a large amount of evidence and information has been presented.
I would like to acknowledge all involved for their diligent work, including investigators, court interpreters, and the crown prosecutors. I would also like to thank the jury, who have heard Yanfei’s case over the last 6 and a half weeks and without whom this case could not be heard.
I would also like to thank the members of our community who provided valuable information to assist us with this case from the very start of our investigation.
Our thoughts are with Yanfei’s family and while the verdict has been reached, this is just one part of the healing process. I acknowledge the strength they have shown and, while the outcome does not bring Yanfei back, I hope they take some comfort knowing that the person responsible will be held accountable.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
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Murder: Chinese national found guilty of killing estate agent Yanfei Bao
A Chinese national caught trying to flee the country has today been found guilty of murdering Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao.
After a seven-week trial at the High Court in Christchurch, a jury took just 97 minutes to find that Tingjun Cao, 53, did indeed kill 44-year-old Bao on July 19 last year.
The Crown case was that Cao, who had moved to New Zealand five months earlier spoke no English and had been helped by Bao to try and find a job, lured her to a house in the suburb of Hornby and stabbed her multiple times.
Cao then dragged her into the boot of his car before dumping her in a shallow grave on a farm outside the city.
It would take police more than a year to find her body after a breakthrough cracking into phone data.
Cao had denied having anything to do with Bao’s death. He sacked his lawyers early in the high-profile trial and conducted his own defence, with the assistance of Chinese Mandarin language translators.
He made various claims about fabricated or false evidence against him and would end up claiming witnesses had mistaken him on the morning Bao disappeared for a “Mr Tang” who he said borrowed his car. No Mr Tang was ever identified.
Mum-of-one Bao was last seen alive on July 19 last year, when she arrived at a house on Trevor St in the suburb of Hornby, set to show a potential buyer through.
A week later, her disappearance was upgraded to a homicide investigation.
Cao was later charged with murder, although it took police more than a year to find Bao’s remains, in an area of private farmland in the Greenpark area south of Christchurch.
The Crown told the jury that while they did not have to prove motive, a graphic photograph allegedly of Bao bloodied and naked from the waist down, was found on Cao’s phone and may have suggested a “sexual element” behind Cao’s actions.
Crown prosecutor Pip Currie told the jury in her closing address to the jury that the weight of compelling evidence against Cao meant it was an “absolute slam dunk” of a case.
Cao moved to New Zealand from China in March last year, the court heard, leaving behind a wife and two sons.
When he arrived in Christchurch, he lived with his brother-in-law and later helped them buy a new house with a $10,000 cash deposit. Bao was the agent for Harcourts, which she had joined earlier last year.
She stayed in touch with Cao — who couldn’t read, write, or speak English — through a Chinese messaging app.
He had struggled for work and she was helping him find a new job after an initial opportunity did not work out.
On the morning of July 19 last year, he sent her a message asking if she had any houses on the market as a friend in China wanted to buy a property, the Crown alleged.
She replied she had several for sale around the city and asked what the buyer’s needs were, the court heard.
Cao allegedly replied his friend wanted a three-bedroom house up to $650,000 in a good location.
They arranged to meet at the Trevor St property, the court heard.
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) was played to the jury, which the Crown says showed the pair each turning up at the house.
Bao arrived before him, took photos and videos of the house, and phoned a friend in China to ask about transferring money from China to New Zealand as she had a client interested in buying a house.
The Crown case was that Cao attacked her inside the house by stabbing her, before dragging her through the house and putting her inside the boot of his car.
It was alleged he drove her across the city, bought a spade, and then dumped her in a shallow grave on a farm south of the city.
Cao was later arrested at Christchurch International Airport with a passport and a one-way ticket to Shanghai.
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Yanfei Bao murder trial: Tingjun Cao found guilty
Chinese national Tingjun Cao has been found guilty of murdering Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao by a High Court jury.
The jury delivered its verdict after deliberating for less than two hours after a seven-week trial during which Cao sacked his defence lawyers and represented himself with the help of a trio of interpreters.
Cao did not react to the verdict and stood in the dock staring ahead with his hands clasped behind his back.
“You might want to get a refund on that plane ticket you scum bag,” Bao’s partner Paul Gooch said from the public gallery.
The judge thanked the jury, noting it had been a lengthy and challenging trial.
Cao’s sentencing has been set down for 7 March, 2025.
Outside court, Gooch told reporters the unimaginable circumstances of her death had been a heavy burden to bear.
“Coming to terms with this devastating loss has been an incredibly challenging journey, especially considering the complete lack of remorse displayed by the individual responsible.
“His actions throughout this trial have highlighted a profound absence of humanity.
Gooch thanked police and jurors for their efforts, saying he was comforted that justice had been served.
In a statement, Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves acknowledged the verdict.
“This was no ordinary case and it will leave a lasting impact on all staff involved including myself.
“We would like to acknowledge the strength of Yanfei Bao’s family who have endured a terribly distressing experience.”
Reeves thanked all those who had been involved in the investigation and trial.
“Our thoughts are with Yanfei’s family and while the verdict has been reached, this is just one part of the healing process.
“I acknowledge the strength they have shown and, while the outcome does not bring Yanfei back, I hope they take some comfort knowing that the person responsible will be held accountable.”
On Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Pip Currie told the jury the case against Cao was an “absolute slam dunk” with compelling and overwhelming evidence showing his guilt.
In her closing argument she outlined the abundance of data, including that which placed them together at the time of Bao’s disappearance and death and ultimately where her body was found.
DNA also linked them both to the Hornby property from which Bao disappeared, Cao’s palm print was found on her broken cellphone and a photo of a naked woman’s body taken by Cao’s phone and later deleted.
Cao claimed police officers had lied, fabricated and planted evidence, and doctored images and videos to blame him.
While delivering his closing argument, he regularly turned and spoke to the glass panes of an empty dock.
At other times, he rambled through measurements and minutiae that were difficult to link to his innocence or the case.
The Crown argued Bao, 44, disappeared on 19 July 2023 while showing the Trevor Street house to Cao.
Her husband, Paul Gooch, reported her missing that night and her cellphone was found in grass on the side of the southern motorway on 21 July.
Cao, 53, who arrived in New Zealand months before Bao’s murder, was arrested at Christchurch Airport, with a one-way ticket to Shanghai days after her disappearance.
He was initially charged with Bao’s kidnapping but two days later, police said they did not believe the mother-of-one was alive and detectives launched a homicide investigation.
Cao was charged with Yanfei Bao’s murder last September, to which he pleaded not guilty. A kidnapping charge was later dropped.
Bao lived in Christchurch with Gooch and her daughter who was aged 9 when she disappeared.
Her body was found just over a year later on 31 July, buried in a shallow grave along a treeline on a Greenpark farm.
The trial before Justice Lisa Preston began on 21 October and was punctuated by a number of adjournments.
Cao, who pleaded not guilty, was initially represented by Colin Eason and Joshua Macleod, but fired his lawyers within weeks.
Justice Preston appointed the men as standby counsel, which meant they could assist with tasks such as cross-examining witnesses, advising on questions of law or appropriate behaviour in court.
She told the jury at the time that Cao was within his rights to defend himself and she believed it was in the best interests of justice for the trial to continue.
Scores of witnesses gave evidence, including on CCTV footage, cellphone data, social media records, blood stains found at the vacant Trevor Street property for sale and in Cao’s car. The court also watched a six-hour police interview with Cao, recorded days after Bao was reported missing.
Justice Preston repeatedly warned Cao about asking irrelevant questions, making meandering and repetitive statements and accusing witnesses of lying.
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