The mother of An An Liu, whose husband is standing trial for her murder, broke down today at the end of her evidence to a High Court jury in Auckland.
Xiaoping Liu also said she tried not to think the worst when she could not get hold of her daughter
by phone in September 2007.
Mrs Liu gave her evidence by videolink from China in the trial of Nai Yin Xue, 55, who is charged with murdering Ms Liu in Auckland on September 11, 2007.
The body of Ms Liu, 28, was found in the boot of Xue's car outside the family home in Mt Roskill.
Xue is alleged to have strangled her to death and then flown to Australia with their then three-year-old daughter, Qian Xun, whom he abandoned at a Melbourne train station.
Xue was located in the United States four months later.
Mrs Liu said she had been in regular contact with her daughter through internet messaging.
However, when she did not receive any messages from her on September 11 and 12, she decided to call her mobile phone on September 13.
After trying a number of times, she finally got through.
Through a court interpreter, she said she became worried that it wasn't her daughter that answered.
Instead, it was Xue who was at the other end, and he told her that Ms Liu had gone to Wellington along with their child.
When she asked why Ms Liu hadn't taken her mobile, Xue said she had left it behind in the car.
"I found that was odd," Mrs Liu said.
"At that time, I was not sure what to believe and I was a little suspicious."
She added: "I did not dare think of the worst scenario and asked him to contact An An to get hold of me.
"I asked for the home number. He gave me a phone number but the last two digits were wrong."
At the end of her hour-long testimony, Mrs Liu asked to say some words to the jury, but Justice Hugh Williams explained that the New Zealand justice system did not allow that.
When Justice Williams then asked how her grand-daughter, who was living with her in Hunan province, was doing, Mrs Liu broke down at the end of her reply.
The reply was not translated for the jury after the judge said it could be controversial.
- NZPA
55-year-old Nai Yin Xue in the dock at the Auckland High Court where he is facing charges of murdering his wife. Photo / Paul Estcourt
The mother of An An Liu, whose husband is standing trial for her murder, broke down today at the end of her evidence to a High Court jury in Auckland.
Xiaoping Liu also said she tried not to think the worst when she could not get hold of her daughter
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.