New Zealand police have identified the two children whose remains were discovered in suitcases bought from an Auckland storage facility.
The children have been identified, according to New Zealand police, who confirmed their identification in a statement on Friday. However, at the family’s request, the coroner has suppressed the release of the children’s identities.
The remains of the children were found by a family searching through the contents of a storage locker they had purchased at an online auction while they were in Auckland on August 11, leading police to open a homicide investigation.
DI Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said on Friday that police were “continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of the children”.
Police have repeatedly stated the family who found the bodies was not connected for the deaths.
Vaaelua said at a media conference last week that a postmortem indicated the children were of primary school age – between five and 10 years old.
“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, adding that it was likely between three to four years.
The people who lived in the house where the remains were found had asked for privacy since they were “understandably distressed by the discovery,” Vaaelua said.