A 42-year-old woman has been arrested in Ulsan, Korea over the deaths of two children whose bodies were found in suitcases in Manurewa, Auckland.
Video / NZ Herald
The 42-year-old woman arrested in Korea in relation to the deaths of two children found in suitcases in South Auckland “may soon” appear in a New Zealand court, according to the Coroner.
The rough timeline for the extradition of the woman - who NZ Police are seeking to charge with two counts of murder - comes after the South Korean Ministry of Justice announced this week it would discuss the “surrender” of the 42-year-old “to New Zealand within 30 days”.
The South Korean Ministry of Justice also announced there has been an application “to surrender articles seized from the suspect at the time of her arrest” by the New Zealand Minister of Justice Kiri Allan.
This extradition update was followed by the release today of an NZ Coroner’s minute confirming the interim suppression orders for the two deceased children would remain in place until the 42-year-old woman appeared in a New Zealand court.
“I am informed that this defendant may soon make an appearance in the Manukau District Court,” Coroner Tania Tetitaha wrote in the minute.
“I intend reviewing the suppression orders made in this adjourned coronial inquiry after the defendant’s appearance in the Manukau District Court. This is because it is in the interests of justice that orders made by a coroner do not conflict with another Court’s determinations on the issue of name suppression.”
A homicide investigation was launched after the remains of two primary school-aged children were discovered on August 11 in suitcases bought by the occupants of a property on Moncrieff Ave, Manurewa.
The suitcases were bought unwittingly as part of an online auction for the abandoned contents of a storage unit in the Safe Store facility in Papatoetoe, Auckland.
The statement from the South Korean Ministry of Justice on November 14, provides a timeline for the extradition application by the NZ Ministry of Justice.
It confirms that Minister of Justice Kiri Allen submitted an extradition request and a “large pool of supporting evidence” to the Korean Ministry of Justice on October 27.
On November 11, the Seoul High Court approved the extradition.
The statement by the South Korean Ministry of Justice then states: “Subsequently, on November 14, 2022, the Minister of Justice finally determined to extradite the criminal to New Zealand in comprehensive consideration of the court reasoning, the nature of the crime (the Korean government has no jurisdiction over the case as it was committed by New Zealand citizen in New Zealand; both the criminal and the victims are New Zealand citizens), and the national interests. He ordered to surrender her by issuing a Writ of Surrender to the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office.”
On August 29, NZ Police backed a bid to suppress the identities of two children found dead inside suitcases in Auckland - citing the potential risk of jeopardising their investigation which was at a “critical stage”.
Coroner Tania Tetitaha’s minutes from August, released to the Herald, show the basis for the non-publication order, sought by the children’s wider family, was to prevent public speculation of the wider family’s involvement in the children’s deaths.
Homicide investigation so far
Last week, the Herald revealed the Auckland house where two primary school-aged children lived before being murdered in 2018 was a simple brick rental in the suburb of Papatoetoe - not far from where their bodies were stored in suitcases in a storage unit for five years.
A 42-year-old woman was arrested on September 15 after an early-morning stakeout by plainclothes police officers of a group of identical 15-storey buildings in the town of Onsan-eup within the South Korean port city of Ulsan, the Herald revealed last month.
New details of the circumstances around her arrest have emerged as she awaits extradition to New Zealand to face charges over the murders of two children, aged 7 and 10, in 2018.
New Zealand Police have confirmed they had made the extradition application and are working through the process with Crown Law.
Immigration records show the woman arrested over the murders arrived in Korea in July 2018.
Police investigate after human remains were found in suitcases at a property in Manurewa. Photo / Dean Purcell
She had been holed up in a modern apartment complex owned by a metals company usually reserved for their workers.
Seoul’s National Police Agency confirmed the woman arrested was accused of murdering her two children, but NZ Police have still not clarified this.
The apartment blocks from which she was arrested on September 15 shortly before 1am Korean time (4am NZ time) are owned by Korean metals and energy company Korea Zinc.
It’s understood the woman lived in an apartment on the top floor of one of a grouping of five identical buildings. The company logo Korea Zinc can be seen printed on the side of one high-rise.
It is not clear if the 42-year-old was arrested directly at her apartment, or out the front of the buildings. But it’s understood neighbours within the Korea Zinc apartment complex saw the woman being escorted by plainclothes policemen on September 15.
The Korea Zinc complex is reserved exclusively for employees of the company, but it’s believed the 42-year-old did not work for it, and may not have been working at all in Korea since moving there in July 2018.
A source told the Herald this likely means the woman knew someone living in the complex.
It can also be revealed the woman had relatives in Seoul who have been located.
As the 42-year-old was leaving Ulsan police station later on September 15 to be transported to Seoul, ushered by authorities, she was photographed with a hooded jacket pulled over her face.
The woman repeatedly said “I didn’t do it”, Korean media reported.
Ulsan is a port city on Korea’s southeast coast with a population of 1.1 million.
“Police arrested the suspect at an apartment in Ulsan on Thursday following a stakeout with tips on her whereabouts and CCTV footage,” Seoul’s National Police Agency said at the time.
“The suspect is accused by the New Zealand Police of having murdered two of her children, aged 7 and 10 then, in around 2018 in the Auckland area,” it said.
“She’s been found to have arrived in South Korea after the crime and has been in hiding ever since.”
Korean media have also reported the children were a boy and a girl.
Korean and New Zealand police in conjunction with Interpol managed to track the whereabouts of the woman in Ulsan via her medical records and phone number, many Korean media outlets have reported.
Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’amanuia Vaaelua said NZ Police applied to have her extradited to New Zealand to face murder charges and requested she remains in custody while awaiting completion of the extradition process.
“To have someone in custody overseas within such a short period of time has all been down to the assistance of the Korean authorities and the coordination by our NZ Police Interpol staff,” Vaaelua said.
“In the meantime, there are a number of inquiries to be completed both in New Zealand and overseas.”
Vaaelua said the investigation had received ongoing assistance from the South Korean Ministry of Justice, the South Korean Prosecution Service and the Korean National Police Agency.
