Mansion double-murder trial opens

The house on Stilwell Road, Mt Albert, where two men were found dead in early 2011. Photo / Natalie Slade

An estranged couple's dispute over a $2-million mansion escalated into the bloody deaths of two men at the property.

The High Court at Auckland has this morning heard the prosecution's opening address in a double murder trial for Cheng-Qi Wang.

Wang is alleged to have killed Zhua "Michael" Wu, 44, and Yishan "Tom" Zhong, 53, on January 14 last year.

Mr Wu's family attended the hearing, his mother sobbing as the jury entered the courtroom.

Prosecutor Kevin Glubb said Mr Wu and Mr Zhong had been acting for Wang's estranged wife in China last January when they entered the Mt Albert mansion.

The mansion had been owned by a trust that had been set up for the wife, and the two men sought to serve a trespass notice on Wang, who continued to live there, Mr Glubb said.

But a struggle took place in the mansion, leading to 23 knife wounds on Mr Wu, who collapsed down a central staircase and died.

Mr Zhong suffered three knife wounds and a bite on his right forearm and stumbled out the front door and down the driveway before dying in a bush in the garden.

Mr Glubb said the case would hinge on the claim that Wang had acted in self-defence.

The hearing continues this afternoon with an address from the defence, led by lawyer Tom Sutcliffe.

The trial is expected to take up to four weeks, hearing from 54 witnesses, including video and written testimonies, before a verdict is reached.