Xue returns to face murder charge and media spotlight

Nai Yin Xue faces the court just hours after arriving from Los Angeles. Photo / Martin Sykes

When Nai Yin Xue left New Zealand six months ago he did so quietly and without attracting any attention - a world away from his arrival home yesterday under the intense media scrutiny and tight security accompanying an international fugitive.

During his flight home Xue was handcuffed and closely guarded by US Customs officers, as rumours circulated on the plane that a suspected killer was a passenger.

Xue, 53, is accused of killing his wife, An An Liu, last September before abandoning his 3-year-old daughter, Qian Xun Xue, at a Melbourne railway station before fleeing to the United States.

He was captured by six members of a Chinese family in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 29.

Passenger Gabi Fredericks was on the flight and told the Herald Xue was in a jovial mood and looked like he was enjoying his meals.

"He seemed incredibly relaxed, although I was told by one of the air hostesses he was in handcuffs."

Ms Fredericks said Xue was seated in the last row of economy.

Another passenger, American Gemma Thompson, thought a celebrity was on board when she saw a big group of media at the airport.

Although she lives in Atlanta, Ms Thompson said she had not heard anything about Xue or his recent arrest.

"My first thought when I saw the whole bunch of reporters was that there was a New Zealand rock star on the flight."

But passenger Susan Edwards, who was in first class, thought otherwise. She said rumours had been circulating that "someone on the flight needed extra security" and thought "the people who were in economy felt jittery about it".

Xue was whisked through Customs and almost immediately after those procedures were completed, he was charged with murdering his wife.

When he walked into courtroom one at the Auckland District Court yesterday, he would have been under no illusion as to the impact his alleged crimes have had. The courtroom was packed with at least 25 reporters and photographers present for his first appearance.

Looking slightly bewildered, he stood silently in a stained white T-shirt as an interpreter conveyed what was being said in court.

Members of the public and court staff crammed into court alongside the throng of media, keen to get a glimpse at the man who had become one of the country's most wanted people.