Suitcase homicides: Korean woman to appear in Auckland court charged with children’s murders

The 42-year-old woman arrested in Korea over the death of two children found in suitcases will today be charged with two counts of murder in an Auckland court.

The woman was yesterday escorted by three NZ Police officers from a Seoul airport, where she was handed over by Korean authorities, to an Air NZ flight that landed at Auckland Airport around midday.

She spent last night in custody after being transported to Manukau Police Station and will make her first court appearance some time today in Manukau District Court. The woman could possibly make a plea over the murder charges at this hearing and a second court date will be set.

The swift extradition of the woman comes just four months after the remains of two primary school-age children were discovered on August 11 in suitcases unwittingly bought by the residents of a Manurewa property as part of an online auction of an abandoned storage unit.

The remains of the children - a girl and boy aged between 5 and 10 years - had been stored in the nearby Papatoetoe Safe Store storage facility for around four years undiscovered.

South Korean authorities have indicated the 42-year-old is believed to be the mother of the two children. Immigration records show the woman arrived in Seoul in July 2018. The father of the children died from cancer in 2017 while the family was still living in Auckland

On September 15, the 42-year-old woman was arrested at her high-rise apartment block in the Korean port city of Ulsan in an early morning stakeout by plainclothes police officers.

The woman repeatedly said “I didn’t do it”, Korean media reported as she was being escorted from Ulsan police station later that day.

Earlier this month, a South Korean court approved the extradition of the woman after an application by New Zealand authorities.

South Korea’s Justice Ministry said yesterday the unidentified woman was handed over to New Zealand authorities on Monday evening at the Incheon international airport near Seoul. The ministry said it had also provided New Zealand with unspecified “important evidence” on the case.

“With the extradition, we hope that the truth of the case, which has garnered worldwide attention, will be revealed through the fair and strict judicial process of New Zealand,” the ministry said in a statement.

The South Korean Ministry of Justice had previously 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.

Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’amanuia Vaaelua, of Counties Manukau police, yesterday confirmed the extradition of the 42-year-old and praised the joint efforts of Korean police and Interpol who had been involved in the homicide investigation.

“The investigation team would like to acknowledge the assistance from agencies both in New Zealand and South Korea, which has meant we have been able to put an alleged offender before the court,” Vaaelua said.

“Police appreciate the interest in this matter, however, we are not able to comment further as a person is now before the court.”

On August 29, NZ Police backed a bid to suppress the identities of the two deceased children - citing the potential risk of jeopardising their investigation which was then at a “critical stage”.

Coroner Tania Tetitaha’s minute from August, released to the Herald, shows the non-publication order was sought by the children’s wider family to prevent public speculation of their involvement in the children’s deaths.