She was Shulai Wang, 70, of China.
Her remains were found inside a bag that was fished out of the sea by Paul Middleton on March 12.
He thought it might have been a bag of rubbish so 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".
It was at that point that he called police.
Kaixiao Liu, 36, and Lanyue Xiao, 36 have since been charged in relation to the homicide investigation.
They were charged with offering an indignity to a dead human body after being stopped and arrested at the airport in early July.
Acting Detective Inspector Tim Williams, of Waitematā CIB, said extensive enquiries had been carried out to identify the victim.
"Detectives from the Operation Parade investigation team recently travelled to China to assist with this process.
"The investigation team has been working tirelessly in the months since the homicide investigation was launched to piece together who this victim was, and the events leading up to her death.
Williams said Wang came to New Zealand in August 2023 from China.
"Mrs Wang's family back in China have been advised of her death and we are working with them and international authorities to repatriate Mrs Wang and return her to her family.
"We appreciate there are still many questions the community has in relation to this investigation and we can assure you our team is working around the clock to find those answers."
Two people, a man and woman both aged 37, remain before the Court charged with interfering with human remains.
The investigation into Wang's death was ongoing, police said.
