Gulf Harbour body trial: Religious group leader, wife jailed over manslaughter, kidnapping

The sentencing brings a measure of legal accountability to a bizarre and tragic case that began unfolding in March 2024 when a local fisherman discovered human remains floating in Gulf Harbour off the Whangaparāoa Peninsula. It took authorities months to identify the victim as Shulai Wang, a Chinese citizen who had overstayed her visa after arriving in New Zealand in August 2023. Investigators ultimately traced the killing to a residence in Ōrewa where Wang and five other women from China had been living under the strict rule of Liu, who operated an unorthodox sect.

Sentencing and Roles in the Ōrewa Compound

Justice Mathew Downs delivered the prison sentences at Auckland’s High Court on Tuesday morning. Liu received 10 years and five months behind bars, which includes a minimum non-parole period of 50 percent of his term. That sentence encompasses convictions for manslaughter, kidnapping, interfering with human remains, perverting the course of justice, and failing to give device passwords to police during a search warrant execution.

Liu’s wife, Lanyue Xiao, received a sentence of seven years and 11 months for her convictions involving kidnapping, manslaughter, perverting the course of justice, and interfering with human remains. Unlike her husband, Justice Downs did not impose a minimum non-parole period for Xiao, acknowledging her lesser culpability compared to Liu, who directed all key decisions regarding Wang’s detention and punishment.

Even so, the judge noted that Xiao was the next most culpable figure in the household due to her status. He observed during the trial that Xiao occasionally disagreed with her husband and that Liu at times deferred to her, concluding that a different outcome might have occurred had she chosen to dissuade him from the offending.

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Strict House Rules and the Fatal Attempted Escape

Trial evidence revealed that Wang and the other five women were expected to follow severe household rules dictated by Liu, whom household members addressed by a Mandarin term repeatedly translated as either Lord or Master. Documents seized from the home included unofficial covenant of the body contracts where some women pledged to enter a mutual love relationship with the sect leader. Those who failed to follow instructions were ordered to repent, with Wang singled out most frequently because she struggled to keep pace with younger members.

Crown prosecutors established that Wang’s mistreatment escalated drastically after she attempted to escape the gated compound on March 6, 2024. Following her failed bid for freedom, Wang was locked in a suitcase, denied food and water, and restrained for much of a 38-hour detention period. Police-recovered recordings captured Liu explaining that Wang’s mouth was taped shut to stop her crying and screaming. When she continued making noise, a towel was stuffed in her mouth before she was placed into a box or suitcase because it was more fixed and soundproof.

Justice Downs highlighted several aggravating factors in the sentencing, noting that Liu and Xiao detained a 70-year-old overstayer who was entirely dependent upon them while taping her mouth and denying her basic sustenance. The judge emphasized Liu’s position as ringleader and pointed to his callous indifference toward the women in the house. Evidence showed Liu retained the black pushchair used to move Wang’s body and the black bed where she was detained, using them as explicit warnings to other followers by telling them the color black represented death.

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Disposal of the Body and Ongoing Legal Proceedings

Wang was dead by the afternoon of March 7, 2024. According to evidence presented in court, Liu convened a household meeting soliciting advice from everyone present—including children—on how to dispose of the body without drawing police attention. Wang’s remains were folded in half using tape, stuffed into plastic bags, and placed into the boot of the Liu family van. The package was then placed in a pram and wheeled to a footbridge over a muddy stream draining into the ocean, where the package was thrown into the water.

The investigation accelerated after serial numbers on two rice bags filled with rocks that had been used to weigh Wang’s body down directed police to Liu and his family. Authorities arrested Liu and Xiao in June 2024 at Auckland Airport as they prepared to leave New Zealand for a short round-trip visit to China. Hidden listening devices, laptop sermons, and diaries recovered from the property provided investigators with a comprehensive record of compound life.

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During her closing address, Xiao maintained that the disposal was intended as a respectful sea burial carried out with ignorance of New Zealand customs and norms. She argued that Wang died of natural causes or from a fall while attempting to jump over a fence into a neighbour’s yard, and urged the court to rely on forensic findings.

“Ms Wang’s body has spoken the only scientific proof from the grave. She was not physically harmed. I ask you to respect the science, reject the speculation.”

Lanyue Xiao, defendant

Pathologist Dr. Kilak Kesha testified earlier in the trial that Wang’s body bore multiple bruises, including marks around her wrists suggesting restraint, though she had no fractured bones or cut wounds. While the corpse weighed under 30kg, the pathologist noted no signs of prolonged starvation.

Liu’s parents, Xiuyun Li and Jingui Liu, were also convicted in June—Li for kidnapping and Jingui Liu for misconduct to human remains. Their sentencing is scheduled to take place later this year as they prepare to place additional material before the court.