Two people charged after a woman's body was found in the Gulf Harbour have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The body of 70-year-old Chinese woman Shulai Wang was found in a black rubbish bag in the water in Gulf Harbour on 12 March, but her identity wasn't revealed until October.
Three people have been charged with manslaughter and kidnapping - a 36-year-old man, a 37-year-old woman and a 61-year-old woman.
The younger man and woman are facing additional charges related to obstruction and providing false immigration information.
Both appeared in the North Shore District Court on Friday morning and entered not guilty pleas.
The man applied for bail with a 24-hour curfew but was denied and detained.
The 61-year-old woman did not face additional charges beyond kidnapping and manslaughter.
The trio were arrested at an Ōrewa address on Thursday morning, acting detective inspector Tim Williams said.
It had taken thousands of hours of investigation work to get to this place in the investigation, Williams said.
Police had been helped by NZ Customs and Immigration NZ to piece together who Wang was and what happened to her.
The investigation was far from over, Williams said, and police were working with Chinese officials to keep Wang's family updated.