[5] More than a year later after her disappearance, Yanfei Bao's remains were found in a shallow grave by police on rural farmland near Lincoln on 30 July 2024.
[2] 52-year-old Tingjun Cao was charged of kidnapping Yanfei Bao was arrested at Christchurch Airport after booking a one-way international plane ticket to China on 22 July 2023.
[5] On 31 July 2023, Police temporarily suspended their search due to high water levels in the Halswell River and Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora.
By that time, Police had received over 200 pieces of information related to Bao's disappearance and searched three properties as part of "Operation Helo."
Police asked for public help locating clothing related to the disappearance and a roughly 1 metre long flat-bottomed spade.
[17] On 19 July 2024, Reeves confirmed that the Police investigation into Bao's disappearance was still "very active" and that staff were in the process of finalising evidence ahead of the trial.
Reeves also confirmed that Police had searched Christchurch's Greenpark neighbourhood about three weeks previously but failed to find anything relevant to their investigation.
[18] On 30 July 2024, Police announced that remains believed to be that of Yanfei Bao were found at a rural property in Greenpark a Neighbourhood in Lincoln.
[19][20] On 31 July 2024 a post-mortem autopsy took place and on 2 August 2024, police confirmed the remains found on the Greenpark property were that of Yanfei Bao.
During the announcement Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves stated, "This news brings to a close a key aspect of our investigation and Yanfei will now be returned to her family".
[25][18] On 23 August 2024, now 53 year old Tingjun Cao appeared via video link before Justice Rob Osborne at the Christchurch High Court.
There were expected to be 80 witness including Bao's husband Paul Gooch, family, friends, police officers, forensic experts and medical professionals.
Stuart also said that forensic evidence confirmed that Bao's blood was found inside the property and that CCTV footage, phone polling and geolocation data were used to track Cao's movements.
[32] That same day, the court heard evidence from the former Trevor St property owner Brenda Schrader, real estate agent Steven Golding, Bao's friend Qing (Sandy) Zhang, real estate agent and colleague Corina Grey, Trevor St neighbour Graham Macdonald and builder Mervin Boclot.
Jin Tian told the court that Bao had asked her for advice on transferring large sums of money from China on behalf of a customer.
[37] On 28 October, the court heard testimony from Christchurch man Jason Saunders, who recalled seeing a Nissan car driving erratically in the Wigram area on the evening that Bao went missing.
The court also heard testimony from Chun-Chieh (Jason) Li, who had briefly employed Cao at his Vision Kitchens joinery business when he arrived in New Zealand around March 2023.
That same day, Cao cross-examined Senior sergeant Paul Manhire, who had given evidence about Bao's discovery in a shallow grave in July 2024.
[44] On 7 November, the court heard testimony from Senior Constable Dean Stevenson, who participated in the search for Bao in the Greenpark farmland area six days following her disappearance in 2023.
Locke told the court that he had recovered a graphic picture from Cao's phone depicting the lower half of a human body that was taken on 19 July 2023, the day that the victim had disappeared.
Locke also told the court that Police had found Bao's phone in a severely damaged state but that digital forensic staff had restored it to working condition, allowing the data to be passed to investigators.
Calder was part of the investigation team that retrieved several "items of interest" around the Lake Terrace Rd area in Burwood and also led the scene examination at Cao's Bryndwr property.
Benjamin told the court that a buckle recorded in the video matched a key chain that Bao was carrying in a CCTV image taken two days before her disappearance.
Howe and Davison had stopped Cao's car for a roadside identity check near the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum in Wigram.
She also submitted evidence that Cao had admitted ownership of his cellphone and argued that the defendant had led the victim to the Trevor Street property under false pretences.
After buying a spade from a hardware store in New Brighton, the defendant buried Bao's remains in a shallow grave at a farm in the Greenpark area.
[57] That same day, Cao was found guilty of murdering Yanfei Bao by the Christchurch High Court jury, who had deliberated for one and a half hours.
[8] Bao's partner Paul Gooch welcomed the verdict and criticised Cao for his lack of remorse and humanity during the trial proceedings.
[7] Gooch also thanked the New Zealand Police for bringing Cao to justice and his stepdaughter's school "for helping her navigate the incredibly traumatic experience."
[7][58] By 31 July 2023, a Givealittle fundraising page was established by Bao's friend Vani Liu and by the time it had ended in August 2023, over NZ$50,000 was raised to help her immediate family, and relatives from China.