The tragic discovery of human remains by an Auckland family after they brought their locker home prompted New Zealand police to announce that they are also broadening the scope of their homicide investigation.
The youngsters, who are between the ages of five and 10 and are unknown to be boys or girls, also have unidentified family members in New Zealand, according to Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua on Thursday.
The investigating team is working diligently to identify and bring to justice the person or persons accountable for these children's deaths, Mr. Vaaelua continued. The children may have been kept in the bags for three to four years, he added. Both suitcases were of similar identical size.
The New Zealand Herald was informed by sources that the two young children's family is located in Asia. The publication also verified Friday that regional cops were collaborating with Interpol.
"We've commenced inquiries with overseas agencies. I cannot state any further than that," Vaaelua said.
Inspector Vaaelua said on Thursday that CCTV would be analyzed, but that given the length of time the bodies had been stored, police would face a challenge. "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 added.
Vaaelua said he understood the update on the incident was 'deeply upsetting to the community. He said that the police are making very good progress with the 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," he commented.
There is no connection in any way between the Manurewa family who purchased the items from the storage container.
On Aug. 11, they purchased the contents of the unit, which allegedly included "prams, toys, and a walker."
It is believed that they had departed Auckland in order to escape the media frenzy. They had placed an online bid for the items in the storage locker at Safe Store Papatoetoe.
Buyers are not permitted to thoroughly inspect the contents before the auction and must place a blind bid on the item. Storage Wars, a famous reality TV program in the U.S., is based on these situations, which are typically storage sheds with unpaid rent.
