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.
‘You took my mummy away from me’
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.”
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.
Cao interrupts
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.
What happened to Bao?
Cao lured the 44-year-old Yanfei Bao to the Hornby home on July 19, 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.
