Qiong Yan was allegedly murdered at an inner-Brisbane apartment in September 2020.
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A man accused of killing his flatmate and keeping her body in a toolbox for months while stealing her family’s money has been found guilty of murder.

Yang Zhao, 30, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Qiong Yan, 29, in September 2020 at their inner-Brisbane apartment.

Yan’s mother today wept as Zhao was found guilty of murder after a Supreme Court jury spent just two hours deliberating following the two-week trial.

Qiong Yan was allegedly murdered at an inner-Brisbane apartment in September 2020.
Qiong Yan was allegedly murdered at an inner-Brisbane apartment in September 2020. (PR IMAGE)

Zhao admitted guilt to tampering with Yan’s body, which police discovered hidden inside a large toolbox on the balcony of their apartment around 10 months following her death.

Zhao murdered Yan by striking her on the head with a metal bottle and strangling her, crown prosecutor Chris Cook had told the jury.

Zhao pretended to be Yan for months, requesting bank transfers to steal $463,000 from her mother after the murder.

Forensics police found Qiong Yan's remains concealed in a "body box" on the balcony of a riverside unit in Brisbane.
Forensics police found Qiong Yan’s remains concealed in a “body box” on the balcony of a riverside unit in Brisbane. (AAP)

Her mother Rongmei Yan had been attending the trial after she travelled from Shanghai to Brisbane.

Zhao spent three days giving evidence at the trial, claiming Yan died accidentally after they had both spent up to four hours in the apartment inhaling nitrous oxide, which he referred to as “nangs” or “laughing gas”.

Zhao, a Chinese national living in Australia on a student visa, testified Yan passed out on the floor and stopped breathing while he was asleep on a nearby couch.

He claimed he hid her body because he was afraid of being charged with supplying drugs.

Zhao said he then unlocked Yan’s phone and impersonated her for months via text messages to her mother who was in China.

The body was found at an apartment in Hamilton.
The body was found at an apartment in Hamilton. (AAP)

Yan was also a Chinese national and was the director of a migration agency.

Zhao admitted later drinking alcohol, inhaling “nangs” and having sex in the apartment metres from where Yan’s body was located on the balcony.

The jury heard Zhao claim his detailed accounts of killing Yan given to police after his arrest in July 2021 were based on thoughts he had while intoxicated, which he combined with “movies and TV dramas”.

Murder carries a mandatory life sentence in Queensland with a non-parole period of 20 years.

Zhao will be sentenced at a later date.

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