New Zealand: Remains of 2 Children Found in Auctioned Luggage

A family in Aukland, New Zealand, recently discovered the remains of two children aged 5 and 10 years old inside suitcases they purchased unseen at an auction for an unclaimed storage locker, Reuters reported on Friday, noting that New Zealand authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the children’s deaths as they suspect they were murdered.

Members of an Aukland-based family bid on and won the contents of an abandoned storage unit through an online auction in recent days. The family “started sorting through” their newly purchased items “on the front lawn of their property in Auckland on August 11” and soon discovered their gruesome contents, News Corp Australia’s news.com.au website reported on August 20.

At least two of the family’s neighbors told New Zealand media that they allegedly witnessed the family unpacking the suitcases on their front lawn.

News.com.au relayed the neighbors’ eyewitness accounts, writing:

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.

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 [August 11] (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.”

Aukland police officers do not consider the family members who purchased the auctioned locker items as suspects in the homicide case, stating that they were “not involved” in the children’s deaths.

“Early indications are that the children’s bodies had likely been stored at the Papatoetoe Safe Store storage facility [in Aukland] for three to four years before being discovered,” News.com.au reported on August 20 citing statements by investigative authorities.

Aukland police officers are following “positive lines of inquiry” in connection with the storage unit rental in question, Aukland Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua told the New Zealand Herald on August 18.

Vaaelua said investigators were planning to “canvass and collect” CCTV footage from the Papatoetoe Safe Store storage facility but acknowledged that the “number of years that have passed could make that challenging.”