{"id":480646,"date":"2026-06-16T20:01:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/480646\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T20:01:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:01:14","slug":"gulf-body-trial-recordings-of-defendants-discussing-body-disposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/480646\/","title":{"rendered":"Gulf body trial: Recordings of defendants discussing body disposal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  [&amp;_p]:tit-sub-xl tit-sub-xl md:[&amp;_p]:d-tit-sub-xl md:d-tit-sub-xl mb-[1.3rem]\">Residents at a house at the centre of a police investigation into Shulai Wang&#8217;s death were asked about how to deal with her body, recordings played in court today have revealed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">By Liu Chen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/crime-and-justice\/598363\/gulf-harbour-body-trial-recordings-reveal-defendants-discussing-body-disposal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">of RNZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Warning: This story contains content some may find disturbing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">The 70-year-old Chinese national was found wrapped in plastic bags in Auckland&#8217;s Gulf Harbour in March 2024, and four family members are on trial for her kidnapping and manslaughter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">They are Kaixiao Liu, a self-claimed leader of a religious group, his wife Lanyue Xiao, and his mother Xiuyun Li and his father Jingui Liu.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">The Crown&#8217;s case is that Wang came from China&#8217;s Hainan province to seek religious instructions from Liu and later died after an unsuccessful escape from the defendants&#8217; house in \u014crewa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Police found six recordings of interest on the laptop of Liu, when he and Xiao were arrested at the Auckland Airport at the end of June the same year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Dated from March 6-27, 2024, the files were named Warning Min, Justifiable Defence, How to Treat Defection, Sort Out, Two Weeks of Seclusion and Traitor, Crown prosecutor Henry Steele said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Iron wire&#8217; and &#8216;suitcase&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/gulfharbourtrial-MCV336PLNRFMBBR76CO46EAYVQ.jpg\" alt=\"Shulai Wang.\" width=\"800\" height=\"449\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ImageMetadata__MetadataParagraph-sc-hi5x8q-0 cWTYyG image-metadata\">Shulai Wang. (Source: rnz.co.nz)<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">The recorded conversations were among the defendants and five other women who stayed with the family and who have name suppression.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">In a recording saved on the afternoon of March 6 \u2013 Warning Min \u2013 Liu was heard talking about how Wang had planned to get rid of one of the &#8220;inspectors&#8221; \u2013 one of the five women \u2013 by pushing her down from a ladder and &#8220;defect&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">The court heard earlier that Wang tried to jump to a neighbour&#8217;s property on March 6, and was brought back by other residents of Liu&#8217;s house.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Wang was at one stage locked up in a tent, denied food and medical help and might have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.1news.co.nz\/2026\/06\/03\/gulf-body-trial-woman-may-have-been-in-suitcase-before-she-died\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">placed into a suitcase before her death<\/a>, the Crown said earlier.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;The god gave her such a heavy lesson to let her repent, but she still didn&#8217;t repent and went in the wrong directions,&#8221; Liu said in the recording, adding that Wang could repent and &#8220;gradually recover and gradually enter the house&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Liu also said that Wang <a href=\"https:\/\/www.1news.co.nz\/2026\/06\/02\/gulf-harbour-body-trial-womans-body-weighed-less-than-26kg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">did not need to be provided with food<\/a> if &#8220;she hasn&#8217;t truly and thoroughly repented&#8221;, and there would not be any problems because she was just lying there and not consuming any energy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">The recordings revealed that Liu, his parents, and Xiao were talking about how to tie Wang up, floating ideas including using handcuffs, soft string, and metal wire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;Use iron wire then&#8230; either iron wire or steel wire will do,&#8221; Liu said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;Now go and reinforce, reinforce. Both hands and feet, reinforce both hands and feet.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Xiao was heard talking about if the way to tie both of her hands would be resembling a &#8220;figure-eight&#8221; and tying &#8220;dead knots&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">In another recording saved just after midnight on March 7 \u2013 Justifiable Defence \u2013 Liu was telling others to remind Wang not to cry or scream.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;As she kept crying or screaming, stick on her mouth then. [If] she is still crying or screaming with a sealed mouth, stuff a towel then,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;If she is still crying or screaming after stuffing a towel, then have to put into the box\/suitcase. This is more fixed. More soundproof.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Deal with this body&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/lanyue-xiao-kaixiao-liu-an-interpreter-jingui-liu-xiuyun-li-XE3PVMDN25A75HKAPG6XRWXQC4.jpg\" alt=\"Lanyue Xiao, Kaixiao Liu, an interpreter, Jingui Liu, Xiuyun Li in the Auckland High Court.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ImageMetadata__MetadataParagraph-sc-hi5x8q-0 cWTYyG image-metadata\">Lanyue Xiao, Kaixiao Liu, an interpreter, Jingui Liu, Xiuyun Li in the Auckland High Court. (Source: rnz.co.nz)<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">In How to Treat Defection, which was recorded in the afternoon of March 8, Liu told others that Wang could have repented and recovered, but she still &#8220;resented and cursed&#8221; and this, together with the fall, killed her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">He said one of the women went to check her at noon the previous day and Wang was still breathing, but later drew her last breath.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;It was the fall that took her life. Do you understand? She must have had some broken internal organs. So the urine that came out when she was in that small bed was mixed with blood. The internal organs were broken,&#8221; Liu told others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;That was an evil person bringing destruction upon herself, causing her own death. Do you understand?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Liu said: &#8220;Everything we did is justifiable defence, fixed her in place, not letting her do evil again, not letting her destroy God&#8217;s home, also helping her rest quietly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Earlier in court, pathologist Dr Kilak Kesha said there was &#8220;no anatomical cause of death&#8221;, meaning no physical injury or signs of disease that could have caused Wang&#8217;s death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;You see, Shulai, who didn&#8217;t obey the way of the God, didn&#8217;t obey the rules. She is dead now, in the garage, already dead,&#8221; Liu said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;Now we are going to deal with this body. What are your opinions?&#8221; Liu asked the group in the house, including his parents and other women.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">People were heard giving answers ranging from burning it, burying it in the ground, and discarding it in a forest or sea.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Liu endorsed the idea of discarding the body to the sea and told others to say that Wang fell to her death and then was buried at sea.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Liu was telling others that the body needed to be wrapped in layers of bags with pebbles and put in the boot of a car for disposal at sea.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">He reminded others to tear a hole in the rubbish bag, in case gas emitting from the body might cause the bag to resurface.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">People were also being reminded that everyone present needed to shoulder the same responsibility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;So in the future, whenever any evil thought comes up and says &#8216;I&#8217;m going to report them because they killed people&#8217;, then you should also know that you are the same. Do you understand?&#8221; Liu said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Liu said Wang&#8217;s body could be consumed by the sea and disappear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">In Two Weeks of Seclusion, recorded on March 15, Liu was talking about not going out to buy groceries and warning others to be careful.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;What happened was such a big thing, so we must hide properly. These two weeks I considered seclusion,&#8221; Liu said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Liu emphasised that Wang killed herself and harmed herself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Earlier in court, Liu said he &#8220;almost&#8221; had no contact with the &#8220;elderly&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">His mother Li also said she did not know Wang and had never heard of this name.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Liu was not in court Tuesday for the trial, agreed by the judge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">The trial, now in its fourth week, continues at the Auckland High Court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Residents at a house at the centre of a police investigation into Shulai Wang&#8217;s death were asked about&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480647,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[51,67,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-480646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-auckland","tag-crime-and-justice","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}