Family buys suitcases at storage auction and finds remains inside, New Zealand cops say
UPDATE: A 42-year-old woman was arrested in South Korea on a warrant with two murder charges, the New Zealand Police announced in a news release on Thursday, Sept. 15. The woman’s connection to the children’s remains was not specified, and the investigation is ongoing.
The original story is below
The remains of two children were found in suitcases bought from a storage facility, according to authorities in New Zealand.
A family in Auckland, New Zealand, purchased property at a storage facility’s online auction on Aug. 11, local outlet Stuff reported.
Among the purchased items were two similar-sized suitcases containing the remains of two children, the Manukau police said in a news conference recorded by Stuff on Aug. 18.
Officials said the children were primary-school-aged, between 5 and 10 years old, who had been dead for a number of years, according to a news release. Their identities, relation to each other, and manner of death have not been disclosed.
The family who found the children’s remains had no connection to their deaths, police said.
“They are understandably distressed by the discovery,” according to the release.
The storage unit also contained household and personal items; investigators at the news conference said they are still trying to determine whether these belongings are linked to the children’s deaths.
“We are continuing to treat this matter very seriously, and we are determined to hold the person, or persons, responsible for the deaths of these children to account,” officials said.
This story was originally published August 18, 2022 at 5:28 PM.
