The unlucky bidders called police to their Moncrieff Avenue home in South Auckland on Thursday afternoon after opening their newly purchased luggage and making the gruesome discovery, a local police official confirmed.
Officers do not believe the family who had bought the bags as part of an online auction of storage lockers in Papatoetoe are involved in what is now being investigated as a suspicious homicide.
The Newshub website reported that the suitcases probably contained several sets of remains and police were trying to determine the exact number of victims and identify them.
Police are seen outside the South Auckland, New Zealand, home where a family discovered body parts inside suitcases bought at a storage unit auction. NZ Herald
“The priority for the police is to confirm the identity of the deceased so that we can establish the full circumstances behind the discovery,” said Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamuanaia Vaaelua.
Police could be dealing with multiple sets of remains, but are still trying to determine the exact number of victims. NZ Herald It is believed the unfortunate family who had bid on the contents of a storage locker had nothing to do with the bodies in the bags. NZ Herald
Neighbors told the New Zealand Herald news website that family members were sorting out the contents of a trailer loaded with items they had bought, unseen at the auction last week, when they were struck by a “bad smell” emanating from the property.
“I could smell it here. I thought it was a dead cat or something,” said the neighbor, who marveled that the family hadn’t noticed the foul smell sooner.
Another neighbour, who worked at a crematorium, told Stuff that he too caught the stench and immediately recognized it as a smell of decomposition.
Police are awaiting autopsy results to shed light on the victims. NZ Herald
A third neighbor, Shelton Honana, called on whoever was responsible for storing the body parts in the suitcases to come forward.
“I feel sorry for the family because they have nothing to do with this. And whoever did it, come forward. It’s a bit unfair bro. It’s horrible, it’s terrifying,” he told Newshub.
On Tuesday, a relative at the Montcrief Avenue home said his family members had moved temporarily because of the media attention.
The man said his loved ones were “doing well” but wanted to be left alone. He also said they did not know how many sets of relics were inside the luggage.
