'Pumpkin's' mum strangled with tie

A NEW Zealand man who abandoned his little girl at a Melbourne railway station used a tie to strangle his wife, a court has been told.

Nai Yin Xue, of Auckland, killed his wife then dumped her body in the boot of his car, a commital hearing in Auckland District Court was told today.

Prosecutor Brian Dickey was putting the crown's case today against Mr Xue, who is charged with murdering his wife An An Liu last September, the New Zealand Press Association reported.

Ms Liu's body was found in the car four days later outside the couple's home in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill.

Mr Xue became the centre of an international manhunt after his three-year-old daughter Qian Xun Xue was found alone at a Melbourne railway station on September 15 last year.

Mr Xue then fled from Australia to Los Angeles and was on the run until February when he was captured in Chamblee, a town on the northeast outskirts of Atlanta, by six residents who recognised him from a newspaper.

Qian Xun Xue, dubbed Pumpkin for the brand of clothing she was wearing when found in Melbourne, now lives with her grandmother in China.

Mr Xue, who has been in custody since he returned to New Zealand, showed little emotion as he appeared in court today.

The crown alleged Ms Liu was killed either on the evening of September 11 or morning of September 12 after a period of domestic violence by Mr Xue.

Ms Liu had been living in Wellington for several months with the couple's daughter following domestic violence and had returned to Auckland only in August, Mr Dickey said.

She had fled her Auckland home after Mr Xue had threatened to kill her, he said.

The hearing continues.