The bodies of two young children found in a suitcase were probably there YEARS before the shocked family unknowingly bought the luggage from an abandoned storage room
Human remains have been found in suitcases bought at a storage auction
South Auckland family made discovery while perusing the contents
Police are investigating with reports of remains of two young children
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The bodies of two young children have been found in suitcases bought by an unsuspecting family in an abandoned storage room.
A family from South Auckland bid in an auction on August 11 and won the contents of the unit before making the shocking discovery that it contained human remains.
NZ Police Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said on Thursday that police believe the bodies of the children, who are between five and 10 years old, had been in the suitcases for between three and four years.
Both suitcases were of similar size.
Forensic police remove a rental trailer used to return the contents of the storage room (photo)
The family that bought the items from the storage room is not involved in any way.
The family had bid online for the contents of the storage space, a common practice for unpaid storage warehouses that has even grown into a popular American reality TV show, Storage Wars.
Buyers aren’t allowed to thoroughly search the contents before auction, and it wasn’t until the family began looking at what they’d bought at home that they made the horrifying discovery.
Mr Vaaelua said CCTV would be analyzed but added it would be challenging given the time the bodies were stored.
He confirmed that relatives of the victims live in New Zealand, but the children have yet to be formally identified.
Mr Vaaelua said he understood the update on the incident was “deeply disturbing” for the community.
“We are still on a fact-finding mission and we still have many unanswered questions,” he told reporters on Thursday afternoon.
A murder investigation is underway and New Zealand police are working with the international investigation agency Interpol.
A trailer carrying the belongings, including the suitcases, also had “prams, toys and a walker” in the back, a neighbor of the Clendon Park property told the publication.
“I feel sorry for the family because they have nothing to do with it,” said a neighbor, Shelton Honana. News Hub.
Detectives and forensic teams swarmed the home of a family who unknowingly bought its contents at auction (pictured)
“Whoever did it… front. It’s a little unfair, mate. It’s horrible, damn scary,’ he added.
Witnesses reported seeing three different hearses outside the home last Thursday night after authorities were called in by the shocked buyers.
The large rental trailer used to transport the loot was also removed from the house by investigators.
The family is accompanied while a large blue tent is set up on the property.
More to come