Advertisement

Chilling new details emerge after children's bodies found in suitcases

WARNING - DISTRESSING CONTENT: Grim new details have emerged in the case of two young children found dead in suitcases purchased at an auction in Auckland, New Zealand.

The latest findings suggest the suitcases were moved between storage units a year before being discovered to contain the children's bodies, according to Stuff.

A person who knew about the transfer said there was nothing suspicious about the suitcases — such as an off smell — when they were transferred within the same SafeStore Papatoetoe facility in the second half of 2021, the local publication reports.

However, there were apparently dead flies and rats in the storage unit.

A photo of the families house in Auckland, New Zealand, being investigated after they found the children's remains in the suitcases they bought in an auction, along with other goods.
The suitcases containing the deceased children were reportedly moved in the second half of 2021 within the SafeStore storage facility in Auckland, New Zealand. Source: Dean Purcell/New Zealand Herald via AP

NZ Herald contacted SafeStore about the latest find, but their spokesman said the company did not want to comment because "the police have asked so as not to compromise any investigation in progress".

The deceased boy and girl, aged between 5 and 10, were previously said to have been stored in the facility for several years before being discovered on August 11 after the contents of the abandoned storage unit were auctioned off.

The family who purchased the goods had them transported to their home in Manurewa before discovering the rotting corpses inside the suitcases.

Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua previously said they were “understandably distressed” by the discovery and are not responsible for the deaths of the children.

A relative told the publication his immediate family members have since "gone away" and that he was looking after the home for them.

An arrest has since been made

In September, there was an arrest made in the harrowing case — a 42-year-old woman who was taken into custody in South Korea by local authorities, at the request of New Zealand police.

She was arrested under a warrant related to two counts of murder of the young children, Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’amanuia Vaaelua said in a statement.

"The arrest warrant was issued by the Korean Courts as a result of a request by NZ Police for an arrest warrant under the extradition treaty between New Zealand and the Republic of Korea," he said.

New Zealand authorities are requesting that she remain in custody while her extradition back to the country is arranged.

The parents of the children were of South Korean heritage but married in New Zealand, where both of the children were born, Stuff previously reported.

It was also revealed that the father of the two children died from cancer in 2017.

Police investigations are continuing.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.