Attribute to Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua, Counties Manukau District Crime Manager:
Police investigating the discovery of human remains in Manurewa on Thursday 11 August are now in a position to provide an update.
Today’s update will be extremely upsetting news for the community to hear.
Initial post-mortem examinations have been carried out and the results show that the remains found in two suitcases are that of two primary school-aged children.
Early indications suggest these children may have been deceased for a number of years before being found last week.
Formal identification procedures are still ongoing, which means Police are not yet able to comment on the identities of the children.
Once this is completed our priority is to contact the next of kin.
We want to reassure the community our investigation is continuing to establish the facts to ascertain the full circumstances around the deaths of these children.
This includes establishing when, where, and how.
The nature of this discovery provides some complexities to the investigation.
However, we are continuing to treat this matter very seriously and we are determined to hold the person, or persons, responsible for the deaths of these children to account.
Police can confirm the discovery of these children’s remains occurred after the residents of the Moncrieff Avenue property brought unowned property back to their address from a storage facility.
Scene examinations have also been completed at both locations.
We reiterate that the occupants of the Moncrieff Avenue property are not connected to their deaths.
They are understandably distressed by the discovery, and they have asked for privacy. We are ensuring there is support in place for them.
Police will continue to provide further updates as our investigation allows, but as the community will appreciate, Police aren’t able to comment on many specifics of the active homicide investigation.
Anyone with concerns they would like to raise are asked to contact Police.
ENDS.
Anna Thompson/NZ Police