A man on trial for murdering his ex-wife in west Auckland has been described as obsessed with revenge.
The High Court in Auckland has heard how the man spent years planning a deliberate and conscious attack on the woman, following a property dispute.
The Crown believes Manchao Li caused his ex-wife Zhimin Yang to fear for her life for years.
The 65-year-old was emotionless in the dock as he entered his not guilty plea for charges of murder and the breach of a protection order.
The Crown told a jury of seven women and five men that on the morning of July 29 last year, Zhimin Yang left her home in Massey to catch a bus to work for the very last time in her life.
"She didn't realise it at the time, at least not until it was too late, that she was being followed by the man that would kill her," said Crown prosecutor Nick Webby.
Just over half an hour later, it's alleged Li tackled her to the ground and stabbed her 12 times with a hunting knife.
Crown prosecutor Nick Webby told the court how Li had told multiple people of his plans to kill his ex-wife following their divorce in 2009.
"He was a man who had become obsessed with exacting revenge or justice against her," Webby said.
The Crown alleges the killing was the culmination of years of threats and abuse.
Yang filed several protection orders against her ex-husband dating back to 2005, and had been forced to live in a safe house after a specific threat to kill.
"He was a man who, for good reason, she was frightened of. She feared he would kill her if he knew where she lived," Webby told the court.
The Crown says Li breached those protection orders multiple times, tried to have her deported, and left dead animals in the letterbox of her son's rental property.
Over the next three weeks, the jury will hear from 47 witnesses including social workers and former flat mates, who Li told of his plans to chop the limbs off his ex-wife.
The first witness, the victim's son, will take the stand on Wednesday morning.
