Lawyers for two grandparents accused in the death of a 70-year-old woman found in Auckland's Gulf Harbour have told a jury their clients had minimal involvement with the deceased.
Shulai Wang's body was discovered by a fisherman wrapped in plastic bags at Gulf Harbour on 12 March 2024. Four family members are standing trial for kidnapping and manslaughter: Kaixiao Liu, 38, Lanyue Xiao, 38, Xiuyun Li, 63, and Jingui Liu, 65.
Prosecutors allege Wang travelled to New Zealand to receive religious instruction from Liu and died on 7 March after attempting to escape the day before. The Crown says her body was disposed of at the Gulf Harbour marina, with CCTV capturing the family's white van and movement around the vehicle.
Philip Hamlin, standby lawyer for Li, told the court there was no proof of homicide. "That's a construct that's followed from the finding of the body. But there's no scientific proof, pathological proof, no eyewitness proof of the killing by one person or another in this case," he said.
Police found extensive notes and diaries at the Ōrewa house, including writings attributed to Li. The documents detailed a points system where household members had points added or removed based on behaviour. One entry dated 6 March described Wang's escape to a neighbour's yard; another dated 7 March noted no more sounds came from Wang.
Hamlin argued Li concentrated on caring for grandchildren and had little interaction with Wang. When shown an image of Wang, Li said she didn't recognise her and had never heard the name. "What it [the writings] does show, and I suggest to you, she was the grandmother and that was her role looking after children as most grandmothers do," Hamlin said. "Ms Li was not involved with Ms Wang's actual detention, however that looked. She was an observer, not a helper."
Shane Tait, standby lawyer for Jingui Liu, told the court his client had only been in New Zealand a few weeks when Wang died and spoke limited Mandarin or English. Tait described Jingui Liu as low in the household hierarchy, sleeping on a single bed in the children's playroom and subject to being reprimanded and losing points.
A recording made when Liu and Xiao were arrested at Auckland Airport on 30 June captured household members discussing how to restrain Wang. In the recording, Jingui Liu mentioned handcuffs and chains. Tait told the jury police searched the house for at least 12 days but found no handcuffs or wires.
All four defendants have denied all charges and chose to represent themselves with court-assigned standby lawyers. Nick Leader, standby lawyer for Kaixiao Liu, said his client denied all charges in Tuesday's closing statement. Xiao also claimed innocence in her closing statement. The jury was expected to begin deliberations on Thursday.