Grieving mother breaks down during final day of murder trial

On the emotional final day of the toolbox murder trial, the alleged victim’s mother, who has flown in from overseas, struggled to hold back tears.

The emotional final moments of a high-profile Brisbane murder trial unfolded on Monday as prosecutors and defence lawyers delivered closing arguments in the case of the man accused of murdering his flatmate and hiding her body in a toolbox.

A jury of eight men and four women listened intently as Crown prosecutor Chris Cook and defence barrister Andrew Hoare delivered their closing arguments.

During Mr Cook’s address, the alleged victim’s mother, who flew in from overseas and has attended every day of the trial, broke down in tears as an officer interpreted the arguments.

Mr Cook argued that Yang Zhao was “obsessed with money” and intentionally killed 30-year-old Qiong Yan for financial gain.

Mr Zhao, a Chinese national living in Australia on a student visa who has pleaded not guilty to murder, is alleged to have killed Ms Yan in September 2020 and concealed her body for months in a locked toolbox on the balcony of their Hamilton apartment.

He was arrested in NSW nearly a year later. At the beginning of his trial, he pleaded guilty to tampering with a body.

Rongmei Yan, the mother of Qiong Yan, has attended every day of the murder trial. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

Mr Cook reminded the jury of Mr Zhao’s own admissions in police interviews, including one recorded on July 19, 2021, in which Mr Zhao said he and Ms Yan had been using nitrous oxide when she began expressing suicidal thoughts.

“She’s been talking about her pathetic life, her bad life, and I had the same feeling as her,” Mr Zhao told police.

He also admitted the pair had just suffered losses on the stock market before agreeing to a so-called suicide pact.

“So we were talking about, let’s die together,” he said in the interview.

However, Mr Cook urged the jury not to be misled by that version of events, arguing it was a calculated lie.

“He lost money, he was angry, he saw a way to get money,” he said.

“She wanted to live.”

In another police interview, Mr Zhao said he struck Ms Yan in the head with a nitrous oxide can and then strangled her.

“I choked her for half an hour or an hour, I can’t remember,” he told police, also describing that he continued to choke her after she appeared lifeless.

The prosecutor painted a picture of Mr Zhao as a man desperate to maintain a lavish lifestyle that he could no longer afford.

“He had a champagne taste on a white wine budget,” Mr Cook said.

He referenced Mr Zhao’s alleged $107,000 in trading losses and more than $100,000 lost in poker.

The Crown alleges Mr Zhao took $463,000 from Ms Yan and her mother over a 10-month period and had no intention of returning it.

During the trial, Mr Zhao told the court that he had unlocked her phone and impersonated Ms Yan for months, sending text messages to her mother, who was in China, to make her believe her daughter was still alive and to continue requesting money.

“He took her money and he took her mother’s money. That’s what he did for 10 months,” Mr Cook said.

In the days after her death, Mr Zhao made purchases and withdrew cash, actions that the prosecution said indicated a cold and calculated cover-up, not panic.

He pointed to Mr Zhao’s repeated lies to police and friends, including the hundreds of messages he sent from Ms Yan’s phone in the months after her death, posing as her.

One of those messages, a short video clip of a cat being patted, was sent to Ms Yan’s mother with the caption, “I am fine, I have Anchun keeping me company.”

The prosecution claims Ms Yan was already dead when it was sent.

Medical testimony during the trial was complicated by the extent of decomposition, but forensic pathologist Beng Ong said a neck fracture could have been caused by strangulation and head trauma might not leave visible defects.

“Dr Ong didn’t have too much to work with,” Mr Cook acknowledged but said the injuries, and Mr Zhao’s own words, supported a violent death.

“What does make sense is he covered his tracks because he knew he murdered her,” Mr Cook said.

Mr Hoare urged the jury to view Mr Zhao’s statements with scepticism, calling them “tales” told by a man who panicked.

“Mr Zhao has lied … but that doesn’t make him a murderer,” he said.

He argued the version Mr Zhao gave police, that he strangled Ms Yan, was fabricated under extreme stress and fear of the death penalty.

Mr Zhao also testified that he hid her body because he was afraid of being charged with supplying drugs.

“At the time I didn’t know nangs were not illegal,” he said.

Defence barrister Andrew Hoare urged the jury to view Mr Zhao’s statements with scepticism. Picture 9News

Mr Hoare said that once Mr Zhao made the decision not to call authorities, “that pathway was set”.

“Lies upon lies until it eventually unravels,” he said.

Mr Hoare suggested the injuries found could have occurred after death, possibly when Mr Zhao moved the body and stumbled.

He argued that the absence of clear signs of brutal assault, such as limited fractures or major internal trauma, was inconsistent with Mr Zhao’s early confession.

“That’s because it was a lie,” Mr Hoare said.

He suggested Ms Yan died from consuming a large amount of nitrous oxide and that Mr Zhao’s actions afterwards, while misguided, were not proof of murder.

“The only evidence supported is a death that does not involve Mr Zhao’s deliberate acts of violence,” he told the jury.

Mr Hoare also rejected the Crown’s motive theory, noting that Mr Zhao had more than half a million dollars in his accounts and had paid cash for a Porsche.

“There was no motivation to kill for money,” he said.

Rongmei Yan broke down in tears during Crown prosecutor Chris Cook’s address. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Mr Zhao transferred Ms Yan’s car into his name after her death, but Mr Hoare explained that it had initially been registered in her name only because Mr Zhao was unable to insure it himself, and the two were good friends who lived together.

He highlighted Mr Zhao’s actions after Ms Yan’s death, including purchasing prayer cushions, planning to place a ring inside the box but wasn’t able to as he “didn’t have the courage to open the box that had his friend in it”.

“Those small acts demonstrate affection,” Mr Hoare said.

Mr Zhao testified during the trial, admitting he “made mistake after mistake” and eventually believing he had missed the opportunity to come clean.

“It was a tightrope walk,” Mr Hoare said.

“People lie for a myriad of reasons.”

He argued there was no evidence to support the “essential lie” Mr Zhao told when he admitted to killing Ms Yan and said she had died “too soon” but not at Mr Zhao’s hands.

“That’s tragic, but it doesn’t become murder,” Mr Hoare said.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Tuesday.