The Thai woman who escaped, bound and gagged, from the boot of a moving car on a South Auckland street has died.
Middlemore Hospital confirmed this morning the 50-year-old woman died from her injuries just after 11pm yesterday.
Police had identified the woman and are piecing together why she was in that boot, who put her there and what happened to her before she was found bleeding and unresponsive with critical injuries on Huia Rd, Papatoetoe, on Tuesday night.
The Herald understands detectives investigating the incident are looking into organised crime groups, including Asian gangs.
The woman had links to the criminal underworld.
The hunt for the car - a silver sedan - and its driver is ongoing and, yesterday, the woman's injuries were considered so severe there were fears she would not survive to tell police her story.
"We want to assure the public we are doing everything we can to locate the person or persons involved in this crime," Detective Inspector Dave Lynch said.