The remains of two children were found in two suitcases bought with other household items in an online auction in New Zealand, prompting police there to begin a murder investigation, authorities said. blame said on Thursday.
Police are still working to identify the children, who are believed to have been dead for “a number of years”, but believe they are of primary school age, Police Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua New Zealand said in a statement on Thursday.
Police did not immediately release the exact ages of the children, their gender, or whether they might be related. They indicated that foul play was suspected. Detective Vaaelua said: “We are determined to hold the person, or people responsible for the deaths of these children.
Police said the remains were found on August 11 by residents of an estate in Manurewa, a suburb of South Auckland, after they brought back “anonymous property” from a storage facility they had bought in an online auction, police said. They added that the residents were not involved in the deaths.
Detective Vaaelua said: ‘They are devastated by this discovery and have asked for privacy. “We’re making sure we have support for them.”
Detective Vaaelua said the investigation was fraught with difficulties, including the time lapse between when the children died and when their remains were discovered. They also said surveillance footage of the storage facility would be difficult to screen because of how much time it would take investigators to check. Police said the suitcases had been stored in storage for perhaps three or four years.
When asked about using DNA analysis to locate the children’s next of kin, Detective Vaaelua said at a news conference on Thursday that authorities were making “very good” progress but “haven’t crossed the line yet.”
Authorities in New Zealand have worked with Interpol, the world’s largest international police organization, and have contacted other foreign police agencies but have not provided further details, said Detective Vaaelua. said.
“We’re still on a fact-finding mission,” he said. “And we still have a lot of unanswered questions.”
