There has been a significant update in the case involving the bodies of two children found in suitcases bought at auction from a New Zealand storage facility, South Korean police have revealed.
As previously reported, New Zealand police launched a homicide investigation earlier this month after the remains of two children were discovered in suitcases won in a storage facility auction. Just before the discovery of the bodies, neighbors living close to the home where they were found reported smelling a "distinctly foul odor" emanating from the home.
Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua, the Counties Manukau District Crime Manager, was able to confirm in a police press conference last week that a post-mortem examination revealed the remains were sadly those of school-aged children between five and 10.
"The bodies were concealed in two suitcases of similar size … I believe the suitcases have been in storage for a number of years," he said, before adding that the remains had been in the suitcases for around three to four years, BBC News reports.
Vaaelua also revealed that the family who discovered the remains were not linked to the deaths, and that they had requested privacy.
It seems that South Korean police have now been able to confirm that they may have located a woman - who they believe could be the children's mother - currently living in Seoul, per the New Zealand Herald.
"New Zealand police had requested confirmation whether the person who might be related to a crime case was in South Korea," Seoul police stated, via the Guardian. They also added that they had reason to believe the woman could be the children's mother, given her past address and age.
Korean news broadcaster KBS reported that Interpol had requested that South Korean police locate the woman. In that report, it was revealed that there were records of the woman entering South Korea in 2018, but none of her having departed the country since then.
The report was also able to confirm that the woman is a Korean-born New Zealand national, though it is still not yet known whether any relatives were with her upon her arrival in South Korea.
The woman's exact whereabouts are currently unknown.
While previously confirming that they were working with Interpol, the New Zealand police have not yet issued a statement on whether they had been in contact with Seoul police regarding this significant update.
A daily Seoul newspaper, the Hankyoreh, heard from the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the National Police Agency, who revealed that the woman cannot be extradited to New Zealand until she is clearly identified as a suspect in the homicide investigation and an arrest warrant is received. When that happens, the Bureau stated, the National Police Agency will then be able to proceed with the extradition claim process to bring the woman to New Zealand.
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