Witness saw Xue with 'family' after wife killed, court told

Photo / Paul Estcourt

A defence witness has told the Xue murder trial she narrowly avoided a collision with a car she thought was being driven by Xue that also carried a young Asian woman and a child.

The witness, Susan Nuttall, said her impression was the occupants were a family out for a "joyride" in a company car.

The sighting came late on September 12, 2007 - a day after police believe Xue murdered his wife by strangling her with a neck tie.

Mrs Nuttall told the High Court at Auckland that Xue was driving a car with Chinese writing on it along Frederick St, Mt Roskill, late on September 12, 2007. A young Asian woman was sitting beside him and a young child in a carseat in the back of the car.
Her impression was that it was a family in the car. She told the court she thought it was a family going for a "joyride" in a company car.

Mrs Nuttall said the car was coming at her from the opposite direction and suddenly swerved in front of her, forcing her to take evasive action.

Asked by defence lawyer Chris Comeskey if she could identify the driver she said that she could and said it was the accused, Nai Yin Xue, who she recognised from later television reports.

Under cross examination, she said she originally told police she could only make out shapes of the other two people in the car and couldn't be specific about their identities, although was sure the passenger was a smaller, Asian woman.

The defence has now closed its case and the trial has adjourned until tomorrow morning when closing addresses will be given by Crown prosecutor Aaron Perkins and Mr Comeskey.