The High Court has been told that there may have been a sexual element to the attack on a Christchurch real estate agent, whose body was found just over a year after she went missing.
Tingjun Cao, 53, a Chinese national, is charged with the murder of Yanfei Bao on 19 July 2023, the day she went missing.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Bao went missing in July last year and her body was found in farmland near Christchurch just over a year later.
The Crown opened its case this afternoon.
Crown Prosecutor Cameron Stuart told the court that Tingjun Cao met Bao when his relative bought a house off Yanfei Bao several months before her disappearance.
Cao paid part of the money towards the property and had dealings with Bao.
After that the two stayed in contact, and Bao tried to assist him to find work.
On the day Bao went missing the Crown said Tingjun Cao contacted Bao saying he had a friend interested in buying a house.
She said she had properties which could be of interest and she arranged to met Cao, and his friend, later that day at a Hornby property.
Stuart said that the Crown case is that Cao stabbed Bao multiple times at that house, and dragged her body through the house and put it in the boot of his car.
He said a photo retrieved from Cao's phone had an image which the Crown said is Bao's dead body, which shows her naked from the waist down and blood on her body.
Stuart said the Crown does not need to prove motive, but that this photo may suggest a sexual element to the offending.
The Crown opening address is continuing.
Where to get help:
Sexual Violence
Victim Support 0800 842 846
Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00
HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655 - push 0 at the menu
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496
