Police launched a homicide investigation on Aug. 12 after an Oakland family unsuspectingly bought the suitcases at an online auction at a warehouse. They took their purchases home before making the discovery and contacting the police. The family is not connected to the deaths, police said. At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, DI Tofilau Famanuia Vaaelua said a post-mortem examination showed the children were of primary school age – between five and 10 years old. “The bodies were hidden in two suitcases of a similar size … I believe the suitcases had been stored for several years,” he said, adding it was likely between three and four years. The occupants of the home who discovered the remains “are understandably distressed by the discovery” and had asked for privacy, Vaelua said. Inquiries are ongoing to establish when, where and how the children died. “Our post-mortem is not yet complete, obviously there are challenges in terms of the bodies being represented,” he said. Vaaelua said he had reason to believe the children had relatives in the country who might not know their loved ones had died. He could not confirm whether police had spoken to the previous owner of the storage unit, but said police were working with Interpol and overseas agencies. “We are looking to search and collect CCTV, but given the time period we have indicated, it will be a challenge.” Along with the suitcases were found household and personal items, which police were using in their investigation to help identify the victims. “Today’s update will be extremely upsetting for the community to hear,” Vaaelua said. “Many of us [police officers] we are parents and we have a job to do and we are doing our best to complete the investigation and locate the victims. “No matter how long or how many years you’ve been serving and investigating horrific cases like this, it never gets easier to do.”


title: “Human Remains Found In Suitcases Were Two Young Children New Zealand Police Say New Zealand Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-25” author: “Cheryl Rodiguez”


Police launched a homicide investigation on Aug. 12 after an Oakland family unsuspectingly bought the suitcases at an online auction at a warehouse. They took their purchases home before making the discovery and contacting the police. The family is not connected to the deaths, police said. At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, DI Tofilau Famanuia Vaaelua said a post-mortem examination showed the children were of primary school age – between five and 10 years old. “The bodies were hidden in two suitcases of a similar size … I believe the suitcases had been stored for several years,” he said, adding it was likely between three and four years. The occupants of the home who discovered the remains “are understandably distressed by the discovery” and had asked for privacy, Vaelua said. Inquiries are ongoing to establish when, where and how the children died. “Our post-mortem is not yet complete, obviously there are challenges in terms of the bodies being represented,” he said. Vaaelua said he had reason to believe the children had relatives in the country who might not know their loved ones had died. He could not confirm whether police had spoken to the previous owner of the storage unit, but said police were working with Interpol and overseas agencies. “We are looking to search and collect CCTV, but given the time period we have indicated, it will be a challenge.” Along with the suitcases were found household and personal items, which police were using in their investigation to help identify the victims. “Today’s update will be extremely upsetting for the community to hear,” Vaaelua said. “Many of us [police officers] we are parents and we have a job to do and we are doing our best to complete the investigation and locate the victims. “No matter how long or how many years you’ve been serving and investigating horrific cases like this, it never gets easier to do.”


title: “Human Remains Found In Suitcases Were Two Young Children New Zealand Police Say New Zealand Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-03” author: “Warren Martelli”


Police launched a homicide investigation on Aug. 12 after an Oakland family unsuspectingly bought the suitcases at an online auction at a warehouse. They took their purchases home before making the discovery and contacting the police. The family is not connected to the deaths, police said. At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, DI Tofilau Famanuia Vaaelua said a post-mortem examination showed the children were of primary school age – between five and 10 years old. “The bodies were hidden in two suitcases of a similar size … I believe the suitcases had been stored for several years,” he said, adding it was likely between three and four years. The occupants of the home who discovered the remains “are understandably distressed by the discovery” and had asked for privacy, Vaelua said. Inquiries are ongoing to establish when, where and how the children died. “Our post-mortem is not yet complete, obviously there are challenges in terms of the bodies being represented,” he said. Vaaelua said he had reason to believe the children had relatives in the country who might not know their loved ones had died. He could not confirm whether police had spoken to the previous owner of the storage unit, but said police were working with Interpol and overseas agencies. “We are looking to search and collect CCTV, but given the time period we have indicated, it will be a challenge.” Along with the suitcases were found household and personal items, which police were using in their investigation to help identify the victims. “Today’s update will be extremely upsetting for the community to hear,” Vaaelua said. “Many of us [police officers] we are parents and we have a job to do and we are doing our best to complete the investigation and locate the victims. “No matter how long or how many years you’ve been serving and investigating horrific cases like this, it never gets easier to do.”


title: “Human Remains Found In Suitcases Were Two Young Children New Zealand Police Say New Zealand Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-15” author: “Donald Quezada”


Police launched a homicide investigation on Aug. 12 after an Oakland family unsuspectingly bought the suitcases at an online auction at a warehouse. They took their purchases home before making the discovery and contacting the police. The family is not connected to the deaths, police said. At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, DI Tofilau Famanuia Vaaelua said a post-mortem examination showed the children were of primary school age – between five and 10 years old. “The bodies were hidden in two suitcases of a similar size … I believe the suitcases had been stored for several years,” he said, adding it was likely between three and four years. The occupants of the home who discovered the remains “are understandably distressed by the discovery” and had asked for privacy, Vaelua said. Inquiries are ongoing to establish when, where and how the children died. “Our post-mortem is not yet complete, obviously there are challenges in terms of the bodies being represented,” he said. Vaaelua said he had reason to believe the children had relatives in the country who might not know their loved ones had died. He could not confirm whether police had spoken to the previous owner of the storage unit, but said police were working with Interpol and overseas agencies. “We are looking to search and collect CCTV, but given the time period we have indicated, it will be a challenge.” Along with the suitcases were found household and personal items, which police were using in their investigation to help identify the victims. “Today’s update will be extremely upsetting for the community to hear,” Vaaelua said. “Many of us [police officers] we are parents and we have a job to do and we are doing our best to complete the investigation and locate the victims. “No matter how long or how many years you’ve been serving and investigating horrific cases like this, it never gets easier to do.”


title: “Human Remains Found In Suitcases Were Two Young Children New Zealand Police Say New Zealand Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-25” author: “Kathleen Rameriz”


Police launched a homicide investigation on Aug. 12 after an Oakland family unsuspectingly bought the suitcases at an online auction at a warehouse. They took their purchases home before making the discovery and contacting the police. The family is not connected to the deaths, police said. At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, DI Tofilau Famanuia Vaaelua said a post-mortem examination showed the children were of primary school age – between five and 10 years old. “The bodies were hidden in two suitcases of a similar size … I believe the suitcases had been stored for several years,” he said, adding it was likely between three and four years. The occupants of the home who discovered the remains “are understandably distressed by the discovery” and had asked for privacy, Vaelua said. Inquiries are ongoing to establish when, where and how the children died. “Our post-mortem is not yet complete, obviously there are challenges in terms of the bodies being represented,” he said. Vaaelua said he had reason to believe the children had relatives in the country who might not know their loved ones had died. He could not confirm whether police had spoken to the previous owner of the storage unit, but said police were working with Interpol and overseas agencies. “We are looking to search and collect CCTV, but given the time period we have indicated, it will be a challenge.” Along with the suitcases were found household and personal items, which police were using in their investigation to help identify the victims. “Today’s update will be extremely upsetting for the community to hear,” Vaaelua said. “Many of us [police officers] we are parents and we have a job to do and we are doing our best to complete the investigation and locate the victims. “No matter how long or how many years you’ve been serving and investigating horrific cases like this, it never gets easier to do.”