Third man appears in connection with Kiko's death

Jiayi Li's body was found in Hamilton this week. Photo / Supplied

The third man charged in connection with the murder of Chinese student Jiayi Li has appeared in court.

The 19-year-old Chinese student appeared in Auckland District Court today charged with being an accessory after the fact to the murder of 18-year-old Li.

Police allege the man, who had been studying in west Auckland, tampered with evidence to enable the two men accused of her murder to avoid conviction.

They are Honglin Yu, 20, and Yangxin Li, 18, both of Lynfield.

The pair face charges of stealing teenager Jiayi Li's car and ATM bankcard at knife point, murdering Miss Li and trying to use her card at ATM machines in Mt Albert and Tamaki Dr.

Yu and Li appeared in the District Court in Auckland on Wednesday where they were granted interim name suppression to tell their family of the charges.

The name suppression order lapsed at 4pm today.

The third man, who appeared before the court with an interpreter, was granted interim name suppression until all his family had been notified of the allegations. He was remanded in custody until June 23, when he will reappear in Auckland District Court.

His parents were both in court today and were visibly upset as the allegations were read out.

Miss Li's body was found in the boot of her car by police in Hamilton on Wednesday. She had not been seen since May 19, the day police believe the 18-year-old was killed.

Yesterday the Herald revealed that Miss Li, also known as Kiko, came to New Zealand with dreams of a better life. Her goal was to finish a business course and open a karaoke bar and pool hall.

"She loved singing karaoke and playing pool, and she thought it would be great if she could set up a place where people can come and do both," a friend said.

Her death has devastated her family and friends. Her parents are understood to be arriving in Auckland from Beijing today.

Easin Xie, whose wife is Miss Li's cousin, said the family was in total shock.

"My wife hasn't stopped crying since we got the news from the police," he said.

Miss Li arrived in New Zealand from Hubei 16 months ago, and enrolled at the St George Institute of Learning on Queen St, where she was close to completing a business diploma.

It is understood that although she had relatives in New Zealand, Miss Li's parents wanted her to live alone so she could learn to be independent.

The grieving friend - who wished to be known only as Lucy - said although Miss Li did not have a boyfriend, she would sometimes go out with friends she had made online, including men.

She had been an active member of several Chinese social networking sites, and kept her own blog on 163.com.

Online, Miss Li described herself as "a summer person", who did not believe in living in the past. She listed her hobbies as movies, beauty and fashion.

"I still cannot believe she is gone. I hope I will wake up and this is just a nightmare," Lucy said.

Another friend told the Herald she last saw Miss Li with a mystery Chinese man early on May 19. Miss Li had dropped the friend in Kingsland about 2am.

"We were stuck because our car got towed away so I texted Kiko to come get us," said the friend, who had known Miss Li for about six months. "When Kiko came, there was another Chinese guy in the car who we have not met before. He was very quiet and did not say anything throughout the journey and they drove off together after dropping us."

Miss Li's red Toyota sat outside Albert Parata's Hamilton home for more than a week before a television appeal on Tuesday night for information about her disappearance made him think twice about the vehicle.

"I just thought it looked pretty nice and quite flash outside my property," he said. "We just happened to catch the registration on TV ... sure enough it was the car the police were looking for."

Investigators set up a cordon on Oakfield Cres in the suburb of Pukete and enclosed the car in a blue tent as forensic investigators worked on it.

"I just feel sad for that poor young girl and her parents," said Mr Parata.

Police removed the car from the street about midday on Wednesday.

Mr Parata and his family are considering moving themselves, despite having lived there for less than six months.

"The missus was pretty upset by it and she was crying about it, so I think we probably will move somewhere else," he said.