Officers investigating the death of Chinese woman Shulai Wang found the body wrapped in five layers of plastic bags and tied to stones weighing more than 15 kilograms.
The Crown said Wang, 70, came to New Zealand in 2023 from China's Hainan province to seek religious instruction from one of the accused, Kaixiao Liu.
Liu, his wife Lanyue Xiao, mother Xiuyun Li and father Jingui Liu have been accused of the kidnapping and manslaughter of Wang and were facing trial in the Auckland High Court.
The Crown said Wang was one of six women who lived "in servitude" to Liu's family at a house in Orewa, and that Wang was starved and punished after breaking the rules of the house and attempting to escape.
Multiple police officers involved in the initial investigation of the case had been giving evidence in court on Tuesday.
Detective Hannah Atkinson said the bags containing Wang's body was taken for a CT scan and later another scan when it was unwrapped in the five rubbish bags "layer by layer".
Fingerprints, palm prints, fingernail clippings, oral and vaginal swabs, and spleen samples were taken from the deceased, she said.
Atkinson also described how the body was folded in a foetal position and wrapped in black adhesive tape.
"The tape was wrapped around and around the body, around the width and around the length, around the face, around the wrists, around the feet," she said.
In cross-examination, Liu questioned how Atkinson can be sure that there wasn't any interference with the body.
The officer said she has followed the process to the best of her ability.
Another police officer, detective sergeant Mark Renfree detailed how officers traced the large amount of rice purchased to the bank account of Liu, and CCTV footage of him getting petrol for a white Mercedes van.
With number plate recognition, the police then unearthed that the van had been at the Gulf Harbour Marina on 8 March, a few days before Wang's body was found.
Xiao's bank account was also connected to the purchase of 50 bags of garden stones from Bunnings Warehouse, which were similar to the ones found on Wang's body, Crown prosecutor Henry Steele said.
Earlier on the day, one of the police officers first on the scene said she held the bag containing Wang's body for about half an hour until a police boat came to help lift the bag out of water.
Constable Chelsea Cruickshank said she attended the scene near Laurie Southwick Parade in Gulf Harbour and met the member of the public who made the call, Paul Middleton.
Cruickshank said she went over to the rock where the bag was half-resting and held onto it wearing gloves to prevent it from drifting away.
She said the bag was very tightly secured around the body, almost like it was vacuum-sealed.
"I could see a rip in the black rubbish bag and there was a hole," she said.
"In that hole I could see a human hand and behind that human hand, I could see what looked to be a human body folded in half."
Cruickshank said the body was wearing pyjama pants and it was a mottled purple-blue colour and white, with some skin peeling off.
"While I was bent down holding that bag, there was a strong odour coming from the bag," she said. "Quite an unpleasant smell."
She said when the police boat arrived with that plastic stretcher which was then used to lift the body out of the water.
Another police officer took over the body and kept the body safe in the Auckland City Hospital mortuary also gave evidence.
Both today and Monday's proceedings were interrupted occasionally due to the nature of Liu's questions or unfamiliarity of the procedures, and Justice Downs advised Liu to seek help from his standby lawyer if needed.
Earlier on Tuesday, another member of the public gave evidence saying they have seen a floating object in the Gulf Harbour while taking their dog for a walk.
On Monday, Crown prosecutor Emma Kerr told the jury the four defendants recorded their daily lives and what happened to Wang in audio and in diary entries.
She read out an entry by Liu's wife Xiao, after telling the jury that there were entries to suggest that the defendants disposed of Wang's body after her estimated date of death on 7 March 2024.
"Two layers, three layers, rubbish bags, squeeze out the air when the time comes, say, throwing away stones, kids came down to play, tight on the neck," Kerr read to the jury.
The Crown was expected to call more than 40 witnesses including members of the public, police officers and immigration officers.
The trial before a jury of six men and six women was expected to last four to six weeks.
