An international student has been accused of murdering his flatmate, Qiong Yan, whose body was discovered in a toolbox on their apartment balcony in Hamilton, Brisbane, nearly ten months after her alleged death. Yang Zhao, 26, has pleaded not guilty to murder but admitted to interfering with Yan’s corpse. Crown prosecutor Chris Cook outlined during the trial that Zhao assaulted Yan, possibly hitting her or choking her, before purchasing a toolbox and duct tape from a hardware store.
Police uncovered Yan’s remains on July 19, 2021, following a missing persons investigation initiated when her friend began to receive suspicious messages. Cook stated that Zhao himself referred to the toolbox as a “body box” and reportedly confessed to the police about killing Yan and placing her in the toolbox. The jury was shown images depicting Yan’s body as it was found, covered by a black sheet with one foot exposed.
Additionally, it was revealed that Zhao manipulated Yan’s phone, obscuring its cameras with tape, and sent around 2000 messages to Yan’s mother in China and a friend in Sydney over several months. The prosecutor suggested that Zhao’s motive was financial strain, stemming from a history of gambling losses amounting to as much as $100,000 at a time. Zhao allegedly needed money and took substantial sums from Yan, including $411,000 sent from her mother and $200,000 withdrawn from her accounts following her death. He also transferred ownership of Yan’s Porsche Panamera to himself and sold it, along with her MacBook.
Prior to these events, Zhao had not held a job or filed taxes and was in arrears for rent. Both Zhao and Yan, who was a migration agency director, were Chinese nationals residing in Australia, with Yan living on a bridging visa. Following Yan’s disappearance, Zhao is accused of engaging in self-preserving behaviour driven by selfishness and cowardice, misguiding police during the investigation. The jury has been informed they will hear further evidence demonstrating Zhao’s deceitful actions in the wake of Yan’s murder.