There may have been a sexual element to an attack on a Christchurch estate agent whose body was found just over a year after she disappeared, the High Court has been told.

Warning: This article discusses details of sexual assault.

Tingjun Cao, 53, a Chinese national, is accused of killing Yanfei Bao on July 19, 2023, the day she disappeared.

He pleaded not guilty.

Bao went missing in July last year and her body was found on farmland near Christchurch just over a year later.

Corona opened her business this afternoon.

Crown prosecutor Cameron Stewart told the court that Tingjun Cao met Bao when a relative bought a house from Yanfei Bao a few months before she disappeared.

Cao paid some of the money for the property and dealt with Bao.

After that, they continued to communicate, and Bao tried to help him find a job.

On the day Bao went missing, the Crown said Cao contacted Bao and said he had a friend interested in buying the house.

She said she had properties that might be of interest and arranged to meet Cao and his friend later that day at Hornby’s home.

Stewart said the Crown’s case is that Cao stabbed Bao multiple times at the house, dragged her body across the property and placed her in the trunk of his car.

He said a photo obtained from Cao’s phone included an image of what the Crown says is Bao’s dead body, showing her topless and blood on her body.

Stewart said the Crown does not have to prove motive, but the photograph may indicate a sexual element to the offender.

The Crown’s opening speech continues.

rnz.co.nz