Instead, the children's bodies had likely been stored at the Papatoetoe Safe Store storage facility for three to four years before being discovered, detective inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said yesterday.
The New York Post focused on those discovering the remains, saying how the "unlucky bidders" from the auction had to call police to their home.
The outlet referred to New Zealand Herald reporting last week in which neighbours said the family members had been "sorting through the contents of a trailer laden with items they had purchased sight unseen" when they were struck by a "wicked smell" wafting from the property.
The UK's Daily Mail also talked about the strange way the bodies were discovered in a storage auction.
"The family had bid on the contents of the storage locker online, a common practice for storage sheds with unpaid rent, which was even turned into a popular US reality TV show, Storage Wars," it wrote.
The UK's BBC noted how the investigation had now gone international with Vaaelua saying local police were working with international criminal police agency Interpol, though relatives of the victims are thought to be in New Zealand.
"This is no easy investigation," Vaaelua said.
"What I can say is we are making very good progress with DNA inquiries."
Broadcaster CNN quoted Vaaelua saying the case was "extremely upsetting news for the community to hear".
"I really feel for the victims or the family of these victims. And, you know right here, right now, there are relatives out there that aren't aware that their loved ones have deceased."
Details of Vaaelua's media conference yesterday were also carried by outlets ranging from the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong to NDTV in India and Qatar's Al Jazeera among many others.
