By Samantha Jones-
A woman believed to be the mother of two children whose remains were found in suitcases in New Zealand earlier this month is in South Korea , South Korean police have said. The official said the woman, a New Zealand citizen, arrived in South Korea in 2018 and there was no record of her subsequently departing the country.
The children were aged between five and 10 years-old, and have been dead for a number of years, New Zealand Police Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said.
“We confirm that she is in South Korea, and that she is a New Zealand national of Korean descent,” an official at the Korean National Police Agency told AFP.
According to the official, the woman held Korean citizenship before acquiring New Zealand citizenship a “long time ago.” The official did not name the woman or give any other identifying details and could not confirm whether she was born in South Korea
A family in South Auckland, who purchased the suitcase at an auction, discovered the remains last Thursday as they opened it in their home in Manuwera.
The children were aged between five and 10 years-old and have been dead for a number of years, New Zealand Police Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said.
A neighbour, who used to work at a crematorium, said he recognised the ‘wicked smell’ when the family brought the suitcase home.
“I knew straight away and I thought ‘where is that coming from?'”
Via a statement released last Friday (12 August), Vaaelua said: “Police were alerted to the discovery on Moncrieff Avenue around 1.30pm on Thursday 11 August, after the occupants brought unowned property to their address.
“A number of Police staff have been working at the address overnight, including the Specialist Search Group.
“From our enquiries so far, we can advise the occupants of the address are not believed to be involved in the incident.
The investigation team is working very hard to hold accountable the person or persons responsible for the death of these children,’ Detective Inspector Vaaelua said.
‘We’ve commenced inquiries with overseas agencies. I cannot state any further than that.’
Detective Inspector Vaaelua said last Thursday that CCTV would be analysed but admitted police were in for a challenge, given the length of time the bodies were stored for.
‘The nature of this discovery provides some complexities to the investigation especially given the time lapsed between the time of death and the time of discovery,’ he said.
A lot of us (in the police) are parents and we have a job to do and we’re doing our very best to identify the victims.
‘What I can say is we are making very good progress with DNA inquiries.
‘This is no easy investigation and no matter how long or how many years you serve and investigate horrific cases like this it’s never an easy task. I myself am a parent of young kids but we have a job to do.’
Detective Inspector Vaaelua said he understood the update on the incident was ‘deeply upsetting’ to the community.
‘We’re still on a fact-finding mission and we still have a lot of unanswered questions,’ he told reporters on Thursday afternoon.
‘I really for the family of these victims, there are relatives out there that aren’t aware that their loved ones are deceased, especially two young children.’