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Warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing.
A year before the bodies of two children were found in suitcases, the remains were moved between storage units at the same Auckland facility, Stuff understands.
A person with knowledge of the move said there were dead flies and rats in the unit – but there was no smell or clues to raise the alarm.
At a press conference in August, Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said the children, a boy and a girl who were primary school-aged, were believed to have been dead for "a number of years", possibly three or four, before they were found.
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A 42-year-old woman was subsequently arrested in South Korea on two counts of murder in September. The woman denied responsibility for their deaths, shouting "I didn't do it", to waiting Korean media.
Stuff understands the suitcases were moved in the second half of 2021 between different storage units at the same SafeStore Papatoetoe facility.
A spokesman from SafeStore said the company did not want to comment "as the police have asked so as not to compromise any investigation in progress".
After being moved at the site, the suitcases holding the children's remains were then sold in a storage unit auction with other items, including toys and furniture, and moved to a Clendon Park home in August 2022 before being discovered by the unwitting family who won the auction.
A police spokesperson said they could not comment on questions put to them by Stuff.
Neighbours described seeing members of the family opening a suitcase, then standing back as if in shock.
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Police and forensics descended on the home shortly afterward.
A neighbour said the remains were brought back to the property on the trailer before whatever was containing them was opened, releasing what they described as a "wicked smell" which could be detected from next door.
As a former worker at Manukau crematorium, the neighbour recognised the nature of the smell instantly.
"I knew straight away, and I thought, 'Where is that coming from?'" he said.
Police are yet to make a formal application for the woman's extradition, which has to be done before October 30 as per the New Zealand-South Korea extradition treaty.
After that, an extradition review would be conducted at the Seoul High Court, which would decide whether to extradite the woman to New Zealand.
Stuff reported in August that the father of the children had died in 2017, a year before the mother is thought to have arrived in South Korea.
The children were aged 5 and 8 at the time of his death.
This article has been reproduced with permission from Stuff.co.nz.
Source: 9News
