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Yang Zhao Convicted of Murdering Flatmate Qiong Yan in Brisbane

The jury found Zhao guilty after less than two hours of deliberation, rejecting his claim of accidental death and uncovering financial fraud involving $463,000 stolen from the victim’s mother.

A wide shot of the Newport building during the day.
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Overview

  • Yang Zhao, 30, was convicted of murdering his flatmate Qiong Yan, 29, in September 2020 at their Brisbane apartment.
  • The decomposed body of Qiong Yan was discovered in a toolbox on the apartment balcony ten months after her death.
  • Prosecutors argued Zhao killed Yan by striking her with a metal bottle and strangling her, motivated by financial gain.
  • Zhao impersonated Yan for months to steal $463,000 from her mother, convincing her to transfer funds under false pretenses.
  • The jury rejected Zhao's defense that Yan died accidentally from nitrous oxide inhalation, sentencing him to mandatory life imprisonment under Queensland law.