Inside the mystery of two children’s bodies found in suitcases in New Zealand

Key questions remain about two dead children found stuffed inside suitcases by an unsuspecting family who purchased items from an abandoned storage unit.

Human remains have been found inside multiple suitcases after a family bought the items at a storage unit auction in New Zealand. Picture: Dean Purcell/NZ Herald.

WARNING: Graphic content

Mystery still surrounds the identities of two children whose bodies were found stuffed inside suitcases after a bidder won the contents of a storage unit at an online auction for abandoned goods.

A family made the grisly discovery after they brought the “unowned property to their address” and started sorting through them on the front lawn of their property in Auckland on August 11.

A homicide investigation is now under way.

Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said the bodies belonged to two children aged between five and 10 years, as ascertained by the post-mortem report.

Among a myriad of questions yet to be answered: Who are the children, how did their bodies end up in a suburban storage unit, and who put them there?

Foul play is suspected, Det Insp Vaaelua said.

“We are determined to hold the person, or persons, responsible for the deaths of these children to account,” he added.

Det Insp Vaaelua told reporters that, while the children had yet to be formally identified, they are believed to have family in New Zealand.

He said authorities are “making very good progress with DNA inquiries” to identify the children and establish when and where they died.

Human remains have been found inside multiple suitcases after a family bought the items at a storage unit auction in New Zealand

Police are still in the early stages of their investigation, but the children appear to have been dead for a number of years.

The identification procedure is still ongoing, “which means that police are not yet able to comment on the identities of the children”, Det Insp Vaaelua said.

“Once this is completed, our priorities is to contact the next of kin.”

It was possible their families were not aware the children were dead, he added. Police did not provide any details on how the children had died or whether there were any suspects.

Early indications are that the children’s bodies had likely been stored at the Papatoetoe Safe Store storage facility for three to four years before being discovered, according to authorities.

Vaaelua said police were following “positive lines of inquiry” in relation to the storage unit rental.

According to Det INsp Vaaelua, investigators are looking at canvassing and collecting CCTV, but the number of years that have passed could make that challenging, the New Zealand Herald reports.

“We are doing our very best to conclude the inquiry and figure out what happened to these young children, he added.

“This is no easy investigation.”

Det Insp Vaaelua said “horrific cases like this” are difficult for homicide investigators, especially those who were parents themselves.

He declined to answer several questions from media, saying the investigation may otherwise be compromised.

One neighbour who witnessed the discovery told the New Zealand Herald earlier this week there was “kids stuff” including “prams, toys, (and a) walker” in the back of the trailer which transported the suitcases.

The family unwittingly purchased the contents of a storage locker as part of an online auction before making the horror discovery.

Another neighbour told the outlet that shortly before police arrived at the scene around 1.30pm on Thursday, the smell from the neighbouring property was noticeable.

“I could smell it here. I thought it was a dead cat or something. That day, Thursday (before the police came),” the neighbour said.

“They brought it back on a trailer. How did they not pick up the smell?

“I knew that because I’m a pig hunter and when carcasses go bad it’s the same smell. That’s why I thought it was a dead animal.”

According to police, the people who purchased the items at an online auction of abandoned goods left at a storage facility and discovered the human remains were “not involved” in the childrens’ deaths.

Det Insp Vaaelua could not confirm if police had spoken to the previous owner of the storage unit, but said authorities were working with Interpol and overseas agencies.

The family that made the shocking discovery has not been identified and has asked for privacy, police said.

“We’re doing all right. As long as everyone leaves us alone, we’ll be all right,” said a relative of the family who spoke to the New Zealand Herald. The family that found the remains of the children has now reportedly left Auckland, he added.

A man at the property on Moncrieff Ave, Manurewa, on Tuesday morning said he was looking after the house for his immediate family who had allegedly left Auckland after making the find.

“We‘re doing all right. As long as everyone leaves us alone we’ll be all right,” the family member said.

“They‘ve gone away [the family who discovered the remains]. I wasn’t here.”