A martial arts instructor fled New Zealand after strangling his wife to death and dumping her body in the boot of his car, a court has heard today.
Nai Yin Xue, 55, is on trial for murdering his wife of four years, An An Liu, 28, on about September 11, 2007. He denies the charge.
In his opening address at the High Court at Auckland, Crown prosecutor Aaron Perkins said after Xue killed his wife he set about "fleeing the jurisdiction" and, after being temporaily successful, was arrested in the United States.
Mr Perkins told the jury that while the exact time of death wasn't known the Crown believed Ms Liu was "almost certainly" killed on the night of September 11, 2007. A pathologist will testify that she was strangled with a man's neck tie.
The tie was found around her neck with a knot in it, the tie partially covering her eyes, when Ms Liu's body was found in the boot of Xue's car.
Mr Perkins said he would call about 95 witnesses during the trial that has been set down for three weeks. The court is expected to hear evidence from witnesses from Australia and the United States.
Jurors were earlier told they must not judge Xue for anything he did outside New Zealand.
Justice Hugh Williams told the all women jury that a court was not a "court of morals" and that only Xue's actions in New Zealand were on trial.
After Xue left New Zealand, he left his daughter, Qian Xun Xue, who was dubbed "Pumpkin" by the media, at a Melbourne railway station before going to the United States.
"If you remember something that happened in Melbourne or the United States [that has been in the media] it is your duty to put those issues out of your minds," Justice Williams said.
When asked to enter a plea to the charge of murder this morning this morning, Xue reaffirmed his innocence, saying: "I am not guilty - I am innocent."
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