PHOTO: NEWSHUB
The man accused of killing real estate agent Yanfei Bao made his first court appearance following the discovery of her remains on a secluded property near Christchurch. Bao, a Chinese national, disappeared on July 19, 2023, after being last seen in the suburb of Hornby, where she was scheduled to show a home to a prospective buyer.
House associated with the alleged murder of Yanfei Bao has been sold
Earlier this month, authorities confirmed that her body had been found in a shallow grave at a rural property in Greenpark, south of Christchurch. The breakthrough in the case reportedly came from information obtained six to eight weeks earlier.
Tingjun Cao, 53, has been charged with Bao’s murder. He appeared before Justice Rob Osborne at the Christchurch High Court on Friday, with the trial still scheduled to proceed in October. The court session did not address the recent discovery of Bao’s remains.
Cao was without an interpreter in court, and his defense attorneys, Joshua Macleod and Colin Eason, plan to visit him in prison to provide an update on Monday. Macleod noted that everything remains on track for the trial, a position confirmed by Crown prosecutor Pip Currie, who also mentioned that some Crown witnesses will require interpretation, which is currently being arranged.
Tingjun Cao, 53, is accused of murdering Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao. (File photo).
Chris Skelton / The Press
The discovery of Bao’s remains is believed to have resulted from a technological breakthrough. Police utilized various data points, including photos, cellphone data, location services, and radio access network (RAN) data, to triangulate a specific area for the search at the rural property.
SOURCE: THE PRESS