Grisly purchase: family finds bodies in luggage
AUCKLAND: Human remains found stashed in suitcases at an Auckland home were unknowingly taken to the house by a family who bought the luggage at a sale of goods from an abandoned storage unit – and may be from multiple victims, according to reports.
The remains were reportedly found in the cases sold to the family last week at an auction of the unclaimed storage unit goods.
The family did not know what was in the luggage until they made the horrific discovery when they got home to Manurewa in Auckland.
“I feel sorry for the family because they’ve got nothing to do with it. And whoever did do it, come on, front up. It’s a bit unfair, bro. It’s horrific and f..king scary,” neighbour Shelton Honana told Newshub.
A police source quoted on local TV said there might be multiple victims involved, but so far investigators had not confirmed this, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Police have launched a homicide investigation and said the occupants of the address were not believed to be involved in the grisly crime.
Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said the discovery was made after the residents took the “unowned property” to their address.
“From our inquiries so far, we can advise the occupants of the address are not believed to be involved in the incident,” he said.
Newshub reported that a trailer-load of property was picked up from the storage unit after a family won the auction for items that had been left abandoned. “As we’ve previously said, we appreciate there is a large public interest – however, there are still a number of inquiries to be carried out before police can comment further,” a police spokesperson said.
The police said the current priority was to identify the dead victims “so that we can establish the full circumstances behind the discovery”.
“However, we are still awaiting the completion and results of the post-mortem examination so we are unable to comment,” the spokesperson said.