“Formal identification procedures are still ongoing, which means Police are not yet able to comment on the identities of the children,” said NZ Police.
New Zealand authorities have confirmed that human remains found in a suitcase belong to two primary school aged children.
On August 11 police were alerted to the discovery after a Manurewa family purchased a suitcase at a storage unit auction.
Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaela said in a press conference that forensic officers have confirmed the children had been deceased for sometime and were aged between five and 10.
“[Yesterday’s] update will be extremely upsetting news for the community to hear,” he said.
“No matter how many years you serve and investigate horrific cases like this, it’s never an easy task,” he said. “I myself am a parent of young kids. But we have a job to do.”
He went onto to say that the children have living relatives in New Zealand and the process of making contact has begun. It’s believed that the bodies may have been at Papatoetoe Safe Store storage for about three to four years.
Police have said that the family who bought the suitcase are not connected to the crime.
“They are understandably distressed by the discovery, and they have asked for privacy. We are ensuring there is support in place for them,” said Vaaelua.
No other information is known at this current time but investigators are working quickly to establish “where, when and how”.
“The investigation team is working very hard to hold accountable the person or persons responsible for the deaths of these children,” said Vaaelua.
Speaking to NZ publication stuff, a neighbour of the property detailed that they could smell something rotten.
“I could smell it here. I thought it was a dead cat or something. That day Thursday [before the police came]. They brought it back on a trailer. How did they not pick up the smell?”
