Two children’s remains found in suitcases auctioned in New Zealand

Police in the Maritime nation said Thursday that two suitcases allegedly bought at auction by a family from Auckland, New Zealand last week contained the remains of two children between the ages of five and 10.

Inspector of New Zealand Police Tofilau Famanuia Vaaelua said the human remains of the unidentified children may have been stored for about three or four years.

“The bodies were hidden in two suitcases of the same size (…) I think the suitcases had been stored for years,” Walua told a press conference broadcast by Radio New Zealand.

The police chief noted that the investigation into the deaths of the minors will focus on the details of how and why they died, identified through forensic DNA analysis.

The police investigative team is “working very hard to hold the person or persons responsible for the deaths of these children accountable,” he added.

“The nature of this discovery poses some problems for the investigation, especially given the time that elapsed between the time of death and the time of discovery,” the detective said, adding that relatives of the victims would be in New Zealand.

New Zealand police began investigating the discovery of human remains in the bags on August 11 after an Auckland family allegedly took various items they had won at an abandoned goods auction to their home in a trailer.

The family who discovered the remains said they were not connected to the children’s deaths and asked the press and the public to respect their privacy.

The police, who did not confirm whether they are questioning the owner of the shop that organized the auction, believe that the investigation will be complicated as the footage captured by the shop’s security cameras goes back several years.