Cissy Chen murder trial: Arguments led up to death

Cissy Chen. Photo / supplied

Cissy Chen's brother told a court his sister and her alleged murderer argued a lot leading up to her death and he cut a New Zealand visit short because of the friction.

Philip Chen told the court how he and the family originally teased the 45-year-old about having a relationship with a man 11 years her senior.

But that humour was soon replaced by concern when cracks formed in their relationship leading up to 2012.

Cissy Chen. Photo / supplied

The trial for Yun Qing "Jack" Liu, 58, accused of the murder of the Chinese-born accountant, began in the High Court at Auckland this morning.

"After they moved into the new house [in Torbay], her relationship with Jack deteriorated." Mr Chen said.

The victim would call him, telling him of arguments over "small things".

When Mr Chen flew over to visit her with his brother Peter, the holiday was scheduled for 17 days but they left after a week because of the clear struggles their sister was facing with Mr Liu.

Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey told the jury by late 2012 Ms Chen was so fed up she called her brother to tell him she was leaving the defendant and she was going to write a will excluding him as a benefactor.

"Ms Chen was in the throes of leaving the defendant and in the process of untangling their property affairs from each other, and that was the cause of considerable anxiety and friction," Mr Dickey said.

It is alleged Liu came home shortly after the victim on November 5 but the pair did not go on their usual walk to Long Bay together.

He told police Ms Chen went alone because he had injured his thumb while moving a pot plant and he did odd jobs around the house while she was out.

"She never went out for that walk that night. It's likely, although we don't have to establish it, that she died at home by the actions of the defendant," Mr Dickey said.

"It appears from the evidence you'll hear, the relationship between them had deteriorated to a very significant extent by the afternoon in question."

Ms Chen's body was eventually found 16 months after her disappearance in a stream in a reserve in Totaravale, 10km away from their home.

"She did not get to that waterway on her own, she could not have," he said.

"This is a disposal of a body, make no mistake about that."

Mr Dickey also told the jury the spot the bones were found was familiar to Liu, being a short distance from where the couple had previously lived for seven years.

Ms Chen's body was so badly decomposed, a pathologist was unable to identify the cause of death.

Mr Dickey said the defendant's story changed several times and all the police interviews - which he highlighted as "powerful evidence" - would be played for the jury.

Police bugged Mr Liu's house and phone lines and seven days after Ms Chen went missing there was an interesting monologue, according to Mr Dickey.

While home alone, he allegedly spoke to Ms Chen's soul asking her why she was so jealous and ungrateful.

But Mr Dickey said the most important question for the jury was: "How did he know she was dead?"

"There's no smoking gun, but [the evidence] will build," Mr Dickey said of the Crown case.

The trial, before Justice Sarah Katz and a jury of six women and six men, is scheduled to last up to eight weeks.