Woman charged over NZ ‘childrens bodies in suitcase’ murder

The woman was extradited to New Zealand from South Korea after the bodies of two children were discovered in suitcases bought in an auction.

The unidentified woman was arrested in September.

A woman has appeared in a New Zealand court today charged with two counts of murder, after the bodies of two children were discovered in suitcases held in a storage unit in Auckland.

The 42-year-old woman, whose name as been suppressed but who has been identified as the children’s mother, entered no plea at the Manukau District Court and has been remanded in custody.

She was extradited from South Korea on Monday after being arrested in the coastal city of Ulsan in September for the murder of the children, a boy and a girl. She told South Korean media: “I didn’t do it,” as police led her away.

Immigration records show she arrived in South Korea from NZ in 2018, a year after her husband died of cancer.

The children’s bodies had been held in the unit for up to four years, NZ media reported. They are believed to have been about five and 10 when they died.

Their bodies were discovered in August after a couple unwittingly bought the suitcases in an online storage unit auction that included toys and other furniture. Neighbours of the couple described how the suitcases were taken to their home on a trailer, with the couple standing back “in shock” after they opened them and saw the contents.

Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua told NZ media at the time the couple were “understandably distressed” by the discovery and were not responsible for the children’s deaths.

The Stuff website reported that the suitcases were moved between storage units in 2021, with dead rats and flies found in the south Auckland unit in which they were held.

The woman was born in South Korea and later moved to New Zealand. South Korean media said she had given up her South Korean citizenship and held only NZ citizenship. The children were both New Zealanders.

NZ police said they had alerted the South Korean authorities after the children were identified. Their grandparents reportedly both live in New Zealand.

The woman was handed over to NZ authorities on Monday at Incheon international airport in Seoul. South Korea’s Justice Ministry said it provided NZ authorities with “important evidence” on the case.

“With the extradition, we hope that the truth of the case, which has garnered worldwide attention, will be revealed through the fair and strict judicial process of New Zealand,” the ministry said in a statement.