Latest news with #YanfeiBao
1News
12 hours ago
- 1News
Unlocking the dark secrets of the Yanfei Bao case: detective's 'gut feeling'
'I certainly had a gut feeling that I don't like what I'm hearing here." Watch a revealing interview with Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves on TVNZ+. With Yanfei Bao's murderer Tingjun Cao sentenced yesterday, Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves talks about this disturbing and challenging case. Missing people are reported to the police every day and usually turn up again – but Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves knew this one was different. A Facebook plea from Yanfei Bao's partner Paul Gooch. (Source: Supplied) It was Thursday July 20, 2023 and 44-year-old Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao hadn't returned from work the previous day. Crucially, she'd failed to pick up her nine-year-old daughter from after-school care. 'And everybody's saying there's no way that would happen. It's just so not her,' Reeves tells 1News reporter Katie Stevenson. 'I certainly had a gut feeling that I don't like what I'm hearing here... ADVERTISEMENT 'That didn't necessarily mean that we were talking about foul play at that stage,' she says. 'But it was certainly something that needed a lot of attention by police quickly.' Paul Gooch and his partner Yanfei Bao. (Source: 1News) By 10pm that evening, it looked very much like foul play. Using cell tower polling, police had found Bao's cell phone in some flax bushes at the side of the Southern Motorway. It was damaged. 'Essentially crushed in half,' says Reeves. 'And it didn't get that way by itself.' Yanfei Bao's phone as it was found by police (Source: Supplied) But the phone was repairable and could tell police a lot – if only they could get into it. There are over a million possibilities with a six-digit pin code and an iPhone allows ten failed attempts before it erases its content or locks permanently. The first eight attempts by Reeves' investigative team were fails. The observant neighbour ADVERTISEMENT But the location of the locked phone also led police to a giant leap forward. That part of the motorway backs onto Banks Rd, a cul-de-sac in Prebbleton. That Thursday evening, while police rummaged in bushes with torches, they were approached by a resident. 'He said, are you guys here about the car that was here last night?'' says Reeves. 'And... we were like, 'well, tell us about it'.' Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves one week after Bao's disappearance. (Source: 1News) Resident Neil Clode later told the court: "About 6.15pm on the Wednesday night I was going out for tea and I went out for my car and I saw a car across the other side of the road with its lights on and I saw someone walk around the front of the car. I then went back inside to get my wallet, and as I was standing at the dining table to grab my wallet the headlights of the car were then pointed towards my house with the high beam lights on. I thought that was strange at the time because not many cars usually do that. They usually parked in the cul-de-sac pointing their headlights towards the motorway.' Bao's phone was found in bushes at the side of the Southern Motorway. (Source: TVNZ) Wallet retrieved, Clode headed out with his wife, spotted the vehicle again and, in a move that would supercharge the investigation, he followed it. "I accelerated to chase him, to catch up with him... I thought whoever was driving in the car was up to no good," he told the court. Clode made a note of the car's registration which he duly handed over to police. 'It was registered to Cao,' says Reeves. Tingjun Cao (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT Tingjun Cao, a Chinese national who'd arrived in New Zealand that March, had a registered address at Iroquois Place, the street where Yanfei's Bao's car had already been found. 'That was the first time he became a person of interest,' says Reeves. 'We've got someone behaving suspiciously at the location of the phone... And coming back to the same address where her car was found... Yeah, he became a suspect pretty quickly.' Tingjun Cao was stopped by police and retrieved his licence from the boot of his car. Later that day he was arrested. (Source: TVNZ) Police could now track the movements of Cao's silver Mitsubishi Diamante via cameras around Christchurch. They also looked at his bank accounts and saw he'd made a purchase at a New Brighton hardware store. CCTV footage shows him talking to the storeowner Denis Shrimpton who would later tell the court how Cao, a non-English speaker, had made a digging gesture and "clearly indicated he wanted to dig a hole". Shrimpton led him to the gardening section where he selected a spade. Tingjun Cao making a digging gesture in the hardware store. (Source: Supplied) Police could learn even more about Cao's movements from his cell phone. 'And we could see very quickly that, oh, interesting, it's in the same location as where Yanfei's phone was on Wednesday... and they were moving around the city together,' says Reeves. Meanwhile her investigative team continued to tinker with Bao's locked phone, every attempted pin bringing them closer to total erasure. 'So there was big, big risk there... But you know, we've got clever people, I trusted their work, trusted their reasoning.' Reeves in her TVNZ+ interview this week. (Source: TVNZ) ADVERTISEMENT The ninth attempt was accurate. 'And obviously being able to get into the phone gave us so much evidence of what actually took place on that day,' says Reeves. A fateful meeting On the day she disappeared Yanfei Bao met Tingjun Cao at a house she was selling in Trevor St, Hornby. The Crown told the court Cao had arranged the meeting, claiming he had a Chinese buyer interested in the house. The house where Yanfei Bao met Tingjun Cao in Trevor St, Hornby (Source: 1News) The pair weren't strangers. They'd met when Bao received money from Cao on behalf of his brother-in-law to whom she sold a house. Cao had recently arrived in Christchurch from Shanghai and was struggling to find work. True to her friendly nature, Bao offered to help him. They exchanged a few messages on the app WeChat. Bao later told a friend that she was being pursued by a man who she'd rejected. She didn't tell the friend his name and his identity was never confirmed at the trial. Last images taken of Yanfei Bao in Wigram. (Source: Supplied) ADVERTISEMENT On the day of the Trevor St meeting, Bao took a video on her phone of herself approaching the address and a male, thought to be Cao, saying in Mandarin. 'You made me wait.' Cao also took, then deleted, a photo on his phone that day. It was of a woman, naked from the waist down, inside a boot of a car. Later it would be revealed that the photo was taken at Yanfei Bao's gravesite. The Trevor St home where they'd met initially appeared immaculate to police – there was even an open home there the weekend after their meeting – but luminol testing later revealed blood belonging to both Bao and Cao and drag marks through the house. Cao was arrested for kidnapping by police just days after Bao's disappearance, after he was seen at Christchurch airport buying a one-way flight to Shanghai with no luggage and all of his money withdrawn from his account. Katie Stevenson and Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves (Source: TVNZ) As Reeves tells Katie Stevenson, the case against Cao was strong. But despite exhaustive searching of farmland, including draining a pond, Yanfei Bao's body remained elusive. Police teams search section of Halswell River in Yanfei Bao case. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT 'The evidence was overwhelming, and we were more than prepared to go to trial without having found her body,' she says. 'It just meant that we would have to go about proving things in a different way.... I'm really confident that we would have been able to do that with the evidence that we had.' Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves, with a police search crew visible over her right shoulder. (Source: 1News) The search for Yanfei Bao's body Detective Inspector Reeves had clearly spent a lot of time with Bao's grieving partner of five years Paul Gooch. And Bao had left behind a young daughter. Finding her body to allow them some kind of closure was keeping her awake at night. But, despite all the evidence provided by the two phones, it took more than a year. Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves told 1News the focus of the search today and tomorrow will be the Hudsons Rd area in Greenpark, south of Lincoln. (Source: 1News) 'It was a year and ten days,' says Reeves. 'I have goose bumps, actually, just thinking about it, because it was probably one of the most remarkable days that I've ever experienced in police. We just had so much hope. You know, we'd been out there so many times, we felt we were just always so close, always that we were in the right spot. But sometimes it's a bit needle in a haystack.' 'We just had so much hope. We'd been out there so many times.' (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT Yanfei Bao was discovered by police dogs in a shallow grave under some Macrocarpa trees on a farm in Greenpark, south of Lincoln. The health app on Bao's phone, which indicated steps taken, had helped to lead police there. "That phone pretty much took us right to the spot." Reeves says learning that Bao's body had finally been found was "unbelievable". 'It's probably quite hard to put into words. It's relief. It's sad as well. But amazing that we could actually find her and bring her home to her family.' The mysterious 'Mr Tang' At the trial, frustrated with his defence team, Tingjun Cao eventually decided to represent himself. In his defence he introduced the existence of a potential employer named 'Mr Tang' to explain his own busy movements around Christchurch on July 23, 2023. Mr Tang was never located by police. Cao's performance in the court room featured bursts of anger, leading to the court taking multiple breaks and requests from the judge for him to stay on track. Tingjun Cao eventually decided to represent himself in court. (Source: Supplied) 'Yeah, it was quite... different,' says Reeves who was questioned by Cao. 'His line of questioning was very unusual as well. There was a lot of criticism suggesting that everything [police found] was manufactured and fake and planted and that every witness had lied. And I think it was pretty obvious that the jury could see through that quite clearly.' ADVERTISEMENT Paul Gooch, Yanfei Bao's partner, and Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves hug following the news of the verdict. (Source: 1News/Ryan Boswell) Yesterday at Cao's sentencing at the High Court in Christchurch, Justice Lisa Preston ordered that he be removed from court, after he repeatedly called out from the dock, then leapt to his feet, waving and shouting in Mandarin. Tingjun Cao (Source: 1News) Sexual component 'abundantly clear' In handing down his sentence of life imprisonment, with a minimum non-parole period of 17 and a half years, Justice Preston said: "The evidence demonstrates there was a sexual component to your offending... certainly the forensic evidence is consistent with this." The judge called the photo recovered from Cao's phone "shocking", and said it made the sexual element "abundantly clear". 'You took my mummy away from me' ADVERTISEMENT Victim impact statements were given at Cao's sentencing from Yanfei Bao's grieving father, sister and partner. "I miss my mummy every single day," wrote Yanfei Bao's daughter. There were moving words read on behalf of Bao's now 11-year-old daughter: "You took my mummy away from me, and my life has not been the same since," she wrote. "I laugh less now as nothing feels as fun as it used to. "I miss my mummy every single day, I miss the way she used to do my hair, cook for me and make me feel safe. I miss her voice, her smell and the way she knew how to always make things better. "Sometimes I just want to cry, but I also don't want to make my dad Paul and everyone else more sad than they already are." Bao's daughter shared how sad she is that her mum won't be part of her future. "I won't be able to tell her about my day or hear her say she is proud of me." ADVERTISEMENT
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao's killer Tingjun Cao sentenced to at least 17 years in jail
Tingjun Cao is removed from the court room during his sentencing for the murder of real estate agent Yanfei Bao. Photo: CHRIS SKELTON Chinese national Tingjun Cao will spend at least 17 years behind bars for murdering Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao. Her family told the High Court at Christchurch of the unbearable absence of Bao from their lives since the 44-year-old disappeared from Hornby in July 2023. Bao's 11-year-old daughter told the court: "My family is sad and our house feels different. It is quieter and emptier." Cao killed Bao in July 2023 after luring her to a Hornby home she was selling. On Friday, Justice Lisa Preston sentenced Cao to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 17 and a half years. Cao was earlier removed from the court by Corrections officers after he regularly interjected and interrupted the hearing with outbursts. Immigration New Zealand said it would now consider enforcement action against Cao. In victim impact statements read to the court on their behalf, Bao's family called for the judge to impose the harshest possible sentence and outlined the immeasurable trauma and loss they had suffered. Bao's daughter, who had name suppression, told the killer: "You took my mummy away from me and my life has not been the same since". "I laugh less now because nothing feels as fun or as happy as it used to. "I miss my mummy every single day. I miss the way she used to do my hair, cook for me and make me feel safe. I miss her voice, her smell and the way she always knew how to make things better. "Since mummy has been gone, I feel lonely a lot. Even when I am with other people, it is not the same without her." Bao's husband, Paul Gooch, said he was still haunted by her final moments. "We find ourselves in a profound state of grief, grappling with the heart-wrenching questions that linger," he said. "When did she first sense the peril to her life? For how long did she endure the unimaginable suffering before her death? The deep sorrow of her pain continues to resonate within us all." Gooch paid tribute to his partner. "Nineteen months ago we were heartlessly deprived of Yanfei. She was a devoted wife and mother and now we are left with the unbearable absence of her presence," he said. "We can no longer share in the joy of her laughter, the fullness of our lives with her, or the comfort of her warmth and love. Her radiant light has been forever extinguished." Gooch's father, David Gooch, called Cao a "despicable monster". "You took Yanfei - a wife, a mother and daughter - for your own gratification and created a huge hole in all our hearts, which will never be filled. We are all heartbroken and are lost without Yanfei," he said. Bao's 74-year-old father, who had name suppression and spoke to the court via audio-visual link from China, said he wished he was present for the hearing. "What right did the defendant have to take my daughter's precious life. What right did they have to destroy our happiness and cause such a heinous impact on society?" prosecutor Cameron Stuart translated on the man's behalf. "In this case, the facts of the defendant's deliberate murder are clear and the evidence is irrefutable. I believe the perpetrator acted with deep malice, used particularly cruel means, caused especially severe consequences, and had a highly adverse social impact. "After being apprehended, the defendant demonstrated a poor attitude, evading responsibility and refusing to plead guilty, which greatly hindered the police and courts investigation. Furthermore, neither the defendant nor their family have ever apologised to the victim's family, showing no remorse whatsoever. Therefore, I solemnly request that the court, in order to uphold the dignity of the law, ensure judicial fairness and maintain social stability, convict and sentence the defendant to the highest penalty according to the law." He also described the immense suffering the family had suffered with the loss of a loved daughter and sister. "My heart at this moment is filled with immense sorrow which words cannot adequately convey," Bao's father said. "My daughter was an intelligent, kind, brave and resilient, modern Chinese woman, full of positivity. She was the light of my wife's and my life, the most brilliant colour in our ordinary days and the greatest spiritual support and source of motivation during our families tough times. "Every stage of her growth was the most precious memory in our hearts, and her laughter was the most melodious tune in our home. Filling it with love and hope throughout the seasons." Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves paid tribute to Bao and her family following the sentencing. "A dedicated investigation team, supported by our forensic specialist partners, has worked tirelessly since July 2023 to tell Yanfei's story and seek a resolution for her and her loved ones. I speak on behalf of all the staff involved when I say this case will stay with us forever," Reeve said. "Once again, I would like to acknowledge Yanfei's family, both here in New Zealand and in China, who have showed nothing but strength, grace and courage over the last two years. "Yanfei was, like so many of us, a much loved and admired woman who was working hard to provide a better life for herself and her family. She had a fundamental right to be safe in her place of work and return home at the end of the day. "Violent men who harm women will not be tolerated in our community and New Zealand Police will hold offenders to account. Violent men should feel under threat, not women and girls going about their lives. "While there is no outcome that can bring Yanfei back to her family, we hope that today's sentencing can bring them some closure, as they continue to adjust to life without her. This is just one part of the healing process and I hope her family can take some comfort knowing the person responsible has been held to account for his actions." As court began on Friday morning, Cao made protestations about evidence he claimed would demonstrate his innocence, leading to Justice Preston closing the court to the public to address the outbursts. However, when court resumed, Cao again leapt to his feet and began interrupting. As Corrections officers escorted him from the court, he continued speaking loudly and gesticulating. His final protest came as he ripped up his papers, bundled them into a ball and threw them to the ground. Cao was forced to watch the remainder of the hearing from another courtroom. His seven-week jury trial last year was also marked by Cao's odd displays. He sacked his defence lawyers during the trial and represented himself with the help of a trio of interpreters. Justice Preston repeatedly warned Cao about asking irrelevant questions, making meandering and repetitive statements, and accusing witnesses of lying. The prosecution described the case against Cao as an "absolute slam dunk" with compelling and overwhelming evidence demonstrating his guilt. However, Cao claimed he was at the centre of a conspiracy and police officers had lied, fabricated, planted and doctored evidence to frame him. In delivering his closing argument he regularly turned and spoke to the glass panes of an empty dock and at other times rambled through measurements and minutiae which were difficult to link to his claims of innocence or the case. Cao lured the 44-year-old Yanfei Bao to the Hornby home on 19 July 2023 under the pretence of wanting to view the property. There he attacked her, bundled her into the boot of his car and drove her to a remote rural road near Lincoln where he killed her. He buried her in a shallow grave along the treeline of a farm in Greenpark where police found her remains almost a year later. Bao's husband reported her missing the day she vanished after discovering his wife had not collected her daughter from an after-school programme, had not come home for lunch and calls to her phone went unanswered. Police found Bao's phone in grass beside the southern motorway two days later. Cao was arrested on his way to Christchurch Airport in the days after her disappearance with a one-way ticket to Shanghai. He was initially charged with Bao's kidnapping but the charged was later dropped. Cao was charged with murder in September 2023. RNZ asked Immigration New Zealand if a deportation order had been sought for Cao, national manager compliance Damon Tredaway said: "we will consider any appropriate enforcement actions once the court proceedings have concluded". Cao would not be eligible for parole until 2041. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Midday Essentials for Friday 13 June 2025
crime world 1:45 pm today In today's episode, family members and friends of passengers who were on board the crashed plane have gathered in Ahmedabad's hospital for DNA tests to help identify their loved ones, there are reports that Israel is attacking Iran - with explosions heard northeast of Iran's capital Tehran a short time ago, the sentencing for Tingjun Cao for murdering real estate agent Yanfei Bao in July 2023 has got under way in Christchurch, and Indian communities in Auckland are holding a vigil on Friday for the hundreds of lives lost in the Air India plane crash.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Yanfei Bao's killer Tingjun Cao removed from court after interrupting sentencing
Tingjun Cao is removed from court on Friday. Photo: CHRIS SKELTON The man who murdered Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao has been removed from his own sentencing hearing after constant outbursts and interjections. Chinese national Tingjun Cao attacked Bao in July 2023 after luring her to a Hornby home she was selling, before killing her and burying her body in farmland. He continues to protest his innocence, blaming a fictional Mr Tang for the murder. Justice Preston closed the court to the public this morning following Cao's outbursts. Photo: CHRIS SKELTON As the sentencing hearing began this morning, Cao would interrupt in Mandarin and gesticulate towards his lawyers. He made protestations about evidence he claimed would demonstrate his innocence, leading to Justice Lisa Preston closing the court to the public to address his outbursts. However, when court resumed, Cao again leapt to his feet and began interrupting in Mandarin. As a result, Justice Preston ordered Cao be removed from the court. As Corrections officers escorted him from the court, he continued speaking loudly and gesticulating. His final protest came as he ripped up his papers, bundled them into a ball and threw them to the ground. His seven-week jury trial last year was also marked by Cao's odd displays. He sacked his defence lawyers during the trial and represented himself with the help of a trio of interpreters. Justice Lisa Preston repeatedly warned Cao about asking irrelevant questions, making meandering and repetitive statements, and accusing witnesses of lying. The prosecution described the case against Cao as an "absolute slam dunk" with compelling and overwhelming evidence demonstrating his guilt. However, Cao claimed he was at the centre of a conspiracy and police officers had lied, fabricated, planted and doctored evidence to frame him. In delivering his closing argument he regularly turned and spoke to the glass panes of an empty dock and at other times rambled through measurements and minutiae which were difficult to link to his claims of innocence or the case. Cao lured the 44-year-old Yanfei Bao to the Hornby home on 19 July 2023 under the pretence of wanting to view the property. There he attacked her, bundled her into the boot of his car and drove her to a remote rural road near Lincoln where he killed her. He buried her in a shallow grave along the treeline of a farm in Greenpark where police found her remains almost a year later. Bao's partner, Paul Gooch, reported her missing the day she vanished after discovering his wife had not collected her daughter from an after-school programme, had not come home for lunch and calls to her phone went unanswered. Police found Bao's phone in grass beside the southern motorway two days later. Cao was arrested on his way to Christchurch Airport in the days after her disappearance with a one-way ticket to Shanghai. He was initially charged with Bao's kidnapping but the charged was later dropped. Cao was charged with murder in September 2023. Following the jury's guilty verdict Gooch yelled at Cao: "You might want to get a refund on that plane ticket you scum bag". The Sentencing Act contained a presumption convicted murderers would be sentenced to life imprisonment unless such a sentence was manifestly unjust. If Justice Preston sentenced to life, Cao would spend no less than a decade behind bars, but the judge could also engage section 104 of Sentencing Act which allowed judges to impose a non-parole period of at least 17 years for particularly egregious murders. Cao is now watching his sentencing hearing from another courtroom. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Yanfei Bao's killer Tingjun Cao removed from after interrupting sentencing
Tingjun Cao is removed from court on Friday. Photo: CHRIS SKELTON The man who murdered Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao has been removed from his own sentencing hearing after constant outbursts and interjections. Chinese national Tingjun Cao attacked Bao in July 2023 after luring her to a Hornby home she was selling, before killing her and burying her body in farmland. He continues to protest his innocence, blaming a fictional Tang for the murder. Justice Preston closed the court to the public this morning following Cao's outbursts. Photo: CHRIS SKELTON When court resumed, Cao continued to interrupt proceedings. Justice Preston ordered he be removed from the court. As Corrections officers escorted him from the court, he ripped up his papers and threw them to the ground. Cao will now watch the hearing from another courtroom. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
