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A man detained and detained Manchao Li, who is accused of stabbing his ex-wife to death before leading police to him, a court heard.
Li, 65, denies murdering Zhimin Yang, also known as Jennifer, at Massey in West Auckland in July last year.
He has also denied violating a protection order that prevented him from contacting his ex-wife, a former university professor who came to New Zealand in search of a better life.
The Crown’s case is that Li was obsessed with getting revenge on Yang for a property dispute after the couple divorced.
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West Auckland stabbing: Manchao Li obsessed with getting revenge on his ex-wife, says Crown
In Auckland High Court, Crown Prosecutor Nick Webby said Yang was attacked from behind and stabbed 12 times with a hunting knife while walking to a bus stop on July 29 last year.
The CCTV footage has been previously played on Yang’s court as he walked to his bus stop on July 29 with Li’s car captured a short distance behind.
LAWRENCE SMITH / THINGS
Forensic personnel examine the scene of the incident in West Auckland. (First published July 2019)
Peter Simpson had dropped off his children at school in Massey before seeing a commotion at Westgate Dr.
He went straight to Yang, however, he saw that Li was running away and getting into his car.
“I stopped in front of him and then slowly stopped to try to stop him and he ran to the back corner of my ute,” Simpson said.
“I went down to the driver’s door … as he was getting out, I told him to get out of the car, and I reached in and took out his keys.”
Simpson said Li told him he was heading to the police station.
“You’ll stay here until they get here, buddy,” Simpson can be heard saying on call 111.
While speaking to the receiver of the 111 call, Li began to tidy up his car before walking to a pond area to go to the bathroom, Simpson said.
On-court footage from the police Eagle helicopter shows Li walking into the pond and throwing what Officer Tristan Kewene described as a cell phone.
The footage also shows Li handcuffed by police at the scene and then placed in a car.
“I didn’t see him drop anything else in terms of weapons,” Kewene can be heard saying.
The images also show paramedics and members of the public around Yang providing CPR.
David White / Stuff
Crown prosecutor Nick Webby said the attack on Zhimin Yang was deliberate.
Earlier on Friday, Kian Tuhiwai described hearing screams that sounded like “terror” of “help” and “stop.”
“I turned around and saw the victim and the attacker together on the hill,” Tuhiwai said.
The young dredger saw the attacker, who according to the Crown was Li, knock Yang to the ground and hit her “fiercely” 12 times “in less than a minute.”
He said the attacker stood on Yang and hit hard as she screamed.
“After the blows, everything was silent and the body went limp,” he said.
Tuhiwai and his colleagues froze before seeing the attacker strutting “like he’s proud,” the court heard.
The alleged attacker then “aggressively” walked away as bystanders and police surrounded the victim.
Physical therapist Daniel Harvey was driving by and also witnessed the attack, heard the woman screaming and challenged the man through his car window.
“I will never forget that scream,” he said.
“I swore to him ‘Fuck you, stop, get out, I’m going to call the police’ and he yelled at me,” Harvey said.
The alleged attacker encouraged Harvey to call the police.
Lawrence Smith / Stuff
Several passersby heard Zhimin Yang’s cries for help when she was allegedly stabbed to death, jurors heard.
“He was confrontational, I felt like I had interrupted him and he was angry … the anger in his eyes … I’ll never forget it.”
Harvey parked and saw Li drive away with Yang groaning with blood on his face.
He ran after him, however Li got into his car and Harvey called 111 before giving Yang CPR.
“I could see blood coming out of different wounds … and it became obvious that this person had been stabbed.”
“He had cut wounds on his jacket.”
Harvey took a resuscitation kit from his car, however, there were no signs of life during several 15-minute CPR attempts.
When Harvey tried to use a defibrillator, he noticed that the woman had lost a “large amount of blood” from the stab wounds to the stomach.
The trial continues on Monday.
