New Zealand
Suitcase bought at auction: mortal remains are children’s corpses
Police officers are looking for clues on the property of the family, who bought a suitcase full of body parts at an auction
© Dean Purcell/New Zealand Herald/AP/DPA
A family in New Zealand discovered body parts in an auctioned suitcase. Now the police already know at least something about the identity and time of death.
The remains of two children have been discovered in two suitcases auctioned off in New Zealand. As the police announced on Thursday, the children had apparently died several years ago. They were between five and ten years old when they died. The cases containing the remains were kept in a storage container until a family auctioned off and opened the contents.
The family, from a suburb of Auckland, had acquired the two suitcases, along with a trailerload of household items, at an auction of stored items whose owners could no longer be traced. The family is not suspect in the case but is “understandably shocked,” New Zealand Police Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said on Thursday.
Police hope for DNA analysis
Regarding the finding of the dead children in the suitcases, Vaaelua said the fact that so much time had elapsed between the deaths and the discovery of the bodies weighed on the investigation. This complicates the autopsy and the identification of the children. However, the investigators made “great progress in DNA analysis”.
The police also hope that the items auctioned off with the suitcases will provide clues to clarifying the case. In addition, recordings from surveillance cameras are evaluated. Investigators also thoroughly searched the warehouse where the suitcases were kept and the family home where they were taken after the auction, police said.
Relatives of the dead children probably from New Zealand
As a precaution, the investigators also turned on the international police organization Interpol. However, they consider it very likely that the children’s relatives can be found in New Zealand.
The family who bought the suitcases asked for their privacy to be respected, police said. She received support in processing her trauma. A neighbor of the family told The New Zealand Herald newspaper that he was currently looking after their house. The family left Auckland because of the media hype surrounding the gruesome discovery in the suitcases.
The case is also close to the investigators. “This is no easy investigation,” Vaaelua said. “No matter how long or how many years you’ve been on duty, investigating horrific cases like this is never an easy task.” The investigative team is working “very hard to hold accountable the person or persons responsible for the deaths of these children.”