Body in bag in Gulf Harbour: Police inching towards identity of victim, killer

Who is she?

How did she die?

Who dumped her body, encased in plastic bags, in Gulf Harbour?

And why has no one noticed she is missing?

It has now been four days since a retiree out fishing discovered the grisly remains of a woman in the water.

And despite the story leading the news for much of the week – no one has come forward to identify her.

Clad in pyjamas and a singlet, police have established she was small-statured, Asian, possibly Chinese.

Her age is yet to be determined but police say she’s likely “middle-aged” and not a child or teenager.

“She could be somebody’s mother, sister or even grandmother,” said acting Detective Inspector Tim Williams.

“We hope that… someone will come forward with information on who this victim might be.”

Acting Detective Inspector Tim William hopes someone will come forward with information on the woman whose body was found in Gulf Harbour. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Williams has released nothing on how the woman may have died.

But one thing is clear, she did not go into the harbour by her own volition.

The fisherman’s discovery

Retiree Paul Middleton spoke to media soon after he found the body.

He had travelled to the Whangaparoa area to fish, hoping to reel in some decent-sized kahawai or snapper.

He had no luck at Army Bay in the morning so moved around to the ferry terminal.

“I [cast] my lure out ... and nothing much was happening, but there was a bag out there,” he told Radio New Zealand on Tuesday.

Fisherman Paul Middleton hands over his lure to police after finding human remains wrapped in plastic bags. Photo / RNZ / Nick Monro

He had no idea what was in the bag but later, when the wind changed, the water pushed it closer to land.

Middleton decided to try to “catch” it.

“Anything floating in the water brings fish around, so I was targeting it,” he said.

“I got that perfect shot, like millimetres to the side of it.”

He hooked it and pulled it into the shore, noting it was heavy but easy to move.

Then he managed to pull it up onto the rocks a short distance.

“I took the hook out and thought, ‘Right, let’s see if it’s a bag of rubbish and I need to dump it in a rubbish bin or something’,” he said.

Police at Gulf Harbour after fisherman Paul Middleton pulls human remains from water on Tuesday, March 12. Photo / RNZ / Nick Monro

He struggled through “layer and layer” of plastic to open the bag.

There was “a bit of clothing ... and then there was this hand sticking out”.

He stopped what he was doing.

He called 111.

“Two cops turned up and they thought I’d actually said there’s just a hand in a bag and then they went down there and went, ‘Oh no, we’ve got a body’,” Middleton said.

He had not tried to open the bag further once he discovered the hand.

Detectives take over

Police soon released a statement about Middleton’s discovery.

“The body has been recovered from the water and a post-mortem examination is expected to begin later today,” said Williams.

“Police have finished our inquiries at the scene with our cordons being stood down.”

Acting Detective Inspector Tim Williams speaks to media about the grisly find. Photo / Jason Oxenham

He said the investigation remained “at the very early stages” and at that point the gender of the victim was not known.

“Our priority is to establish the identity of the deceased and what has led to their death,” Williams said.

“We would also encourage any residents in the nearby coastal area that saw anything suspicious to contact us.”

Day two: Wednesday 13 March

On the second day of the investigation tourists parked in a camper van at the harbour told the Herald they had also noticed something large floating in the water a day earlier.

The Kiwi couple said a huge wind had blown into the gulf on Monday, bringing logs and debris into the harbour.

They spotted the bag from the shore, but had no idea what they were looking at,

Another camping traveller said it was a sad discovery.

“It’s sad, it’s someone’s son or daughter or maybe even mother or father,” he said.

Day three: Thursday, March 14

Williams confirmed the autopsy had been completed and a homicide investigation was under way.

He released further, but limited, information.

“At this stage, we have not been able to confirm the identity of the victim, but we can say they are a female of Asian descent, possibly Chinese, and small in stature,” Williams said.

“Police are asking anyone who may have information on a woman matching the description who they have concerns for to please get in touch.

“Our priority will be to then identify and notify the victim’s next of kin.”

The body, which has yet to be identified, was found in the Gulf Harbour. Photo / Michael Craig

Williams said police were still unsure of the circumstances surrounding her death and would not speculate.

He appealed for anyone who was near the water in the past few days or in the Gulf Harbour area and saw anything “suspicious” to contact police.

“No piece of information is insignificant as we work to determine exactly what has occurred,” Williams said.

“We would like to thank those who have already come forward and given us information.

“Police appreciate this is very unsettling for both the Gulf Harbour and wider community and we reiterate we do not believe there is a wider risk to the public in relation to this death.”

Day four: Friday, March 13

More details about the woman, still unnamed and unknown, are released to the public.

Williams said he hoped the release of the information would help to identify her.

Photographs of the clothing she was wearing when found were disseminated and appeared across the media.

“These are blue pyjama pants with a distinct pattern on them, and a brand’s emblem on a light-coloured singlet,” WIlliams said.

“We hope that in releasing these images that someone will come forward with information on who this victim might be.

“She could be somebody’s mother, sister or even grandmother.”

Police investigating the murder of an Asian woman whose body was found at Gulf Harbour have released this image of the pyjama pants she was wearing when found. Photo / NZ Police

He said the priority for police was still to identify the woman and contact her next of kin.

“We have established the victim is a female, small in stature, who we believe is to be middle-aged,” he reminded.

“At this stage, I am not able to be more specific with the age range, but we can say the victim is not a child, nor do we believe she is a teenager.

“She is believed to be of Asian descent, and from our inquiries to date, we believe the victim may be Chinese.”

Branding on a singlet found on the Asian woman's body. Photo / NZ Police

He also addressed speculation the body could be missing Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao.

The 44-year-old was reported missing after she failed to pick up her 9-year-old daughter from school on July 19.

A week later, her disappearance was upgraded to a homicide investigation.

A man has been arrested and charged with murder but Bao’s body has never been found.

Tingjun Cao, 52, has pleaded not guilty to the charge and will stand trial later this year.

Yanfei Bao has been missing since July 2023. A man has been charged with her murder.

Williams shut down any connection between the woman in the harbour and Bao.

“I am aware there has been some speculation that the victim is Ms Yanfei Bao from Christchurch,” he said.

“Our teams across the country have made inquiries into this possibility, but we can rule out that this victim is Ms Bao.”

He also had a message for the community who, naturally were worried about the finding of a body so close to home.

“We do appreciate how unsettling this incident is for both the Gulf Harbour and wider community and we want to reassure you we do not believe there is a wider risk to the public in relation to this death,” he said.

“We want to reassure the community our investigation is continuing to establish the facts to ascertain the full circumstances around the death of this woman.

“This includes establishing when, where, and how. However, the nature of this discovery provides some complexities to the investigation.

“Police are continuing to treat this matter very seriously and we are determined to hold the person, or persons, responsible for her death to account.”

Dedicated information line

On Friday, Williams announced police had set up a dedicated phone line to assist the investigation team.

Anyone with information about the woman or that could help the investigation can now call 0800 755 021.

Police carrying the body to the hearse at Gulf Harbour. Photo / Kylan Kukard

“We are continuing to ask anyone who may have information on a woman matching the description who they have concerns for to please get in touch,” Williams reiterated.

“Additionally, anyone who was near the water, between Gulf Harbour and Long Bay, in the last few days who saw anything of concern to contact us.

“If you have a property facing the water, we ask that you check your CCTV, and call police if there is anything of note.

“No piece of information is too little as we work to establish what has occurred.”

This morning a police spokesperson said there was no update on the investigation, but assured any new information would be released “proactively”.

Can you help?

If you have information, call the investigation team on 0800 755 021.

You can also provide information through the police non-emergency phone number 105, or click to pass on information online and use the “update my report” section.

Please reference file number 240312/9837.

Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz