A woman thought to be the mother of two children whose remains were found in suitcases at a storage facility has been arrested in connection with their murder.
As previously reported, the bodies were discovered by an Auckland, New Zealand, family after they won a storage container full of items in an auction one month ago.
Among the items they brought home were two suitcases, which were emitting a peculiar odor. The family later made the gruesome discovery of the children's decomposed remains on August 11.
The family - who detectives stated had no connection to the deaths - suffered intense distress after discovering the children's remains and temporarily left Auckland following the incident.
At the time, New Zealand police were unsure of the children's identities when they launched the homicide investigation and were awaiting further DNA analysis so they could go through the arduous process of locating the victims' families and notifying them of the children's deaths.
Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua, the Counties Manukau District Crime Manager, eventually revealed in a press conference that the bodies were those of school-aged children aged between five and ten.
Vaaelua had noted the grisly nature of the case, telling reporters: "As for the investigation team, there are a number of them that are parents. 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."
Since then, per a previous report, New Zealand police had been working with international law enforcement agency, Interpol, to identify and locate the woman they claim is the children's mother - who is believed to be a South Korean-born New Zealand national living in the East Asian nation.
The children's identities have also now been confirmed, though have not been released at the request of their families.
Now, Reuters has reported that the children's mother has finally been found in South Korea, and was thought to have fled there in 2018 after the death of her two children, as there is no record of her leaving Korea during the last four years.
Per the report, the 42-year-old woman, who has not yet been named, was arrested in connection with the children's murders after Interpol issued a Red Notice - prompting Korean police to apprehend her.
As she was escorted from a police station in the southeastern city of Ulsan, the woman told reporters: "I did not do it."
In order to have her formally tried for murder in a New Zealand court, the country first must seek her extradition within 45 days - then a South Korean court will review the order before making a decision.
The BBC reported that the children and their mother lived in Auckland for several years, with their father sadly dying of cancer not long before they died. The children's grandparents still live in New Zealand.
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