- A New Zealand family found the remains of two children in a suitcase they bought at auction.
- The cases were inside a unit they bought from a storage facility without knowing the contents.
- Police said the remains had probably been there for several years before being noticed.
A New Zealand family found the remains of two dead children in suitcases inside a storage unit they bought at auction, police announced on Wednesday.
The family purchased the mobile unit without knowing what was inside.
They then brought it to their South Auckland home and discovered the two suitcases with bodies inside on August 11. A murder investigation was launched the next day, according to The Guardian.
At a Wednesday news conference, New Zealand Police spokesman Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua announced that the remains belonged to children aged around five to 10 years old. The suitcases had likely been in storage three to four years, he said.
The family who found the remains haven't been named. They are not considered to be connected to the deaths and were "understandably distressed," Vaaelua said.
A nearby neighbor, who is a former crematorium worker, told New Zealand outlet Stuff that they immediately knew there were human remains from the "wicked smell" he noticed around noon on the day of the find.
"I knew straight away and I thought where is that coming from," he told the outlet. Soon, the remains were moved into a forensic tent set up at the address, the outlet reported.
The unit also held what Vaaelua said were "household items and personal items." He said police were trying to see whether those items could help identify the children.
The storage company is helping in the investigation, Vaaelua said, but he wouldn't confirm whether police had spoken to the unit's former owner.
He emphasized that the investigation was at a very early stage. Vaaelua said that police were reviewing security footage from the storage unit, but that it may be too late to find anything relevant.