International student who killed his female housemate and hid her body in a box for 10 months learns his fate in court

For months, Rongmei Yan thought she was exchanging substance messages with her beloved girl successful Australia.

She did not realise Yang Zhao was pretending to beryllium Qiong Yan successful a bid to bargain wealth aft murdering her girl and putting her successful a instrumentality box.

Almost 5 years aft the decomposing assemblage of Ms Yan, 29, was recovered connected a Brisbane unit's balcony, Zhao was connected Tuesday recovered blameworthy of execution by a Supreme Court jury.

Zhao, 30, received a beingness condemnation and volition beryllium eligible for parole aft serving 22 years.

'I consciousness atrocious that each those days that the idiosyncratic I've been talking to was not my daughter... astatine the clip she had already go a skeleton,' Ms Yan's parent said successful a devastating unfortunate interaction connection connected Tuesday.

During the two-week proceedings Ms Yan's parent sat silently successful tribunal arsenic she endured grounds that elaborate her daughter's 'senseless murder' and 'appalling treatment' of her body.

After flying successful from Shanghai, she heard Zhao had killed her girl by striking her connected the caput with a metallic vessel and strangling her successful September 2020 astatine their inner-Brisbane apartment.

Zhao past enactment Ms Yan's assemblage successful a instrumentality container connected their balcony and unlocked her phone, impersonating her for months via substance messages to her mother.

More than 2500 WeChat messages were sent with Zhao requesting slope transfers, stealing astir $500,000 from Ms Yan's mum who is present 'destitute'.

Ms Yan's parent broke down erstwhile the assemblage took conscionable 2 hours to find Zhao blameworthy of execution earlier speechmaking a heartbreaking connection translated to the court.

'When I heard the quality that my girl had been murdered I abruptly mislaid the capableness to walk,' she said.

'After respective months of acupuncture attraction I gradually recovered.

'Every time I lavation my look with tears. I inactive cannot judge the information my girl is gone.'

The wealth stolen by Zhao was compensation Ms Yan's parent had received from the Chinese authorities for relocating her house.

'Not lone person you consigned her to a beingness of grieving, you drained each her disposable wealth and arsenic acold arsenic I tin gauge, she's been near destitute arsenic a effect of nary realistic imaginable of recovering thing from you,' Justice Martin Burns told Zhao during his sentencing.

Justice Burns recovered Ms Yan had died of strangulation earlier Zhao began impersonating her.

'You did this (impersonation) to support up the pretence that Ms Yan was inactive live and besides to summation entree to her mother's money,' helium said.

'Your singular motive for the execution of Ms Yan and the concealment of her assemblage  - bare greed - was thereby realised.' 

Zhao, a Chinese nationalist living successful Australia connected a pupil visa, had pleaded not blameworthy to murder.

He alternatively pleaded blameworthy to interfering with Ms Yan's corpse, which was recovered by constabulary successful the instrumentality container astir 10 months aft her murder.

Zhao spent 3 days giving grounds astatine the trial, claiming Ms Yan died accidentally aft they had some spent up to 4 hours successful the flat inhaling nitrous oxide, which helium referred to arsenic 'nangs' oregon 'laughing gas'.

Zhao testified Ms Yan passed retired connected the level and stopped breathing portion helium was dormant connected a adjacent couch.

He claimed helium hid her assemblage due to the fact that helium was acrophobic of being charged with supplying drugs.

Zhao admitted aboriginal drinking alcohol, inhaling 'nangs' and having enactment successful the flat metres from wherever Ms Yan's assemblage was located.