An An Liu's dreams for her life in New Zealand never came to pass.

An An Liu's dreams for her life in New Zealand never came to pass.

Like countless Chinese migrants before her, 27-year-old An An Liu arrived here with a suitcase - and some big dreams. For her, the "Nuzeelin" in the glossy travel brochures was an unspoilt paradise where dreams just might come true.

But consumed by loneliness and kept virtually a prisoner in her own home, her passport hidden by her husband, An An's short time in New Zealand would end in misery - killed and dumped in the boot of the family sedan outside their Auckland home.

For those who knew An An and her 54-year-old husband Nai Yin Xue, her death came as little surprise. Many, such as long-time family friend David Ma, had seen warning signs.

Xue, the self-professed kung fu expert, had an explosive temper, Ma remembers, and would regularly let fly at An An.

Xue arrived in New Zealand in the mid-1990s from Fushan in China's Liaoning province, eager to prove himself, first as a martial arts expert and then as a businessman.

He was fairly ordinary at both.

On one occasion he invited people to come along and pit their martial arts skills against his. A large Pacific Islander took up the challenge - and beat Xue easily.

"He was an extremely arrogant and rude individual," Ma said. "He made out he was a martial arts expert, but there were always questions over that.

"He was not well liked. Annie [An An] would bear the brunt of much of his disappointment with life."

Ma still remembers the demure "wee girl" he met back in Changsha many years ago. "She was a lovely girl. It's such a shame this has happened."

Located in the river valley on the Xiang River, Changsha is the capital of the Hunan Province - a booming middle-class city that has profited from China's double-digit economic growth.

But for An An, born to modestly wealthy parents, nothing could stop the lure of seeking her fortune overseas. New Zealand with its easy-going climate of tolerance seemed like the promised land.

It had everything, and with a little hard work it could be hers - or so she thought.

An An arrived in New Zealand in 2002 as a 22-year-old language student, but grasping English was more difficult than she imagined.

Making friends was even harder.