Yanfei Bao case: Open home held at scene of murder, court hears

An open home was held at the property at which the Crown alleges Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao was stabbed to death four days after she went missing, a High Court trial has heard.

Tingjun Cao, 53, a Chinese national, is charged with murdering Bao on 19 July, 2023, the day she disappeared.

Bao, 44, was last seen heading to show a house to a prospective client on Trevor Street, where the Crown alleges she was killed by Cao.

Harcourts real estate agent Steven Golding told the court he worked at the same company as Bao but had never met her face-to-face. Golding said he spoke to Bao on the day she vanished.

"I had a few missed calls from Yanfei in the morning, and then I spoke to her sort of mid-morning and then also engaged text conversation with her after that, and that was the last conversation I had with her.

"She was just enquiring around Trevor Street, and if it was vacant and the lockbox code… she didn't say why, but it's a common thing to ask if it's vacant to let their owners know if they can go there or not."

That was the last time Golding had contact with her.

Golding confirmed that an open home was held at the Trevor St property four days later on 23 July.

Golding said he was not aware of any cleaning inside the house before the open home, but he visited the property beforehand.

"As good practice in Harcourts when you visit a property you leave a business card there, and I found Yanfei's business card on the kitchen island bench," he said.

Golding said a set of keys was missing from the lockbox when he visited the property after 19 July.

These were never found.

During cross examination from defence lawyer Colin Eason, Golding said he could not remember when it was discovered the keys for the property were missing.

Golding was also questioned about the open home on 23 July.

"Had the police given permission or were they aware that was happening?" Eason asked.

"They weren't aware that an open home was happening, but I was allowed access to the house to carry on," Golding said.

Another Harcourts real estate agent who worked with Bao, Corina Grey, gave evidence at the trial on Thursday.

She also missed a call from Bao the morning of 19 July 2023.

Grey was questioned by police about calls she had had with a number they linked to the accused, Cao, on 17 July - two days before Bao went missing.

She was asked about these calls in court.

"I remember him being extremely hard to understand with his language. I do vaguely remember being asked about a property that I had on the market, and possibly asking if he could have a long settlement," Grey said.

Grey said Cao was referring to a property different from the Trevor Street one.

The court also heard from a woman who looked after the Trevor Street property. Brenda Schrader and her husband helped prepare the property for open homes after the owners moved away.

Asked if the couple had ever shed blood at the house from an injury, she replied no. Schrader said she only became aware of Bao's disappearance when she read about it in the media.

The Crown case is that Cao stabbed Bao multiple times at the Trevor Street property, and dragged her body through the house and put it in the boot of his car.

Crown Prosecutor Cameron Stuart said a photo retrieved from Cao's phone had an image which the Crown said was Bao's dead body, which showed her naked from the waist down and blood on her body.

Stuart said the Crown did not need to prove motive, but the photo might suggest a sexual element.

Cao's defence lawyer Joshua MacLeod said the Crown's evidence was not enough to prove the murder charge, and the evidence was much muddier than they wanted it to appear.

"How did they approach this case, how did it develop, and when. Who were they looking at and why, and how wide a net did they cast? What evidence can you actually rely on?"

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