According to a Seoul police official, a woman presumed to be the mother of two kids whose bodies were discovered in suitcases in New Zealand earlier in the month is in South Korea.
According to the official, the woman, a New Zealand resident, arrived in South Korea in 2018 but there was no record of her leaving the country.
The woman held Korean citizenship before obtaining New Zealand citizenship “a long time ago,” according to the official. The official refused to identify the woman or provide any other identifying information, and she could not verify whether she was born in South Korea.
Her location is unknown, according to the official. South Korean authorities have not launched their own investigation into the case but are working with New Zealand authorities via Interpol.
Police in New Zealand launched a murder investigation earlier in the month after a relative from South Auckland reportedly found human body parts in several items, they obtained from a storage unit in an online auction.
According to New Zealand police, the kids, who were most likely between the ages of 5 and 10, could have been dead for several years, possibly three or four.
New Zealand police say the family who purchased the suitcases at auction are not being investigated.
At this point in the investigation, New Zealand police told CNN they were unable to confirm the details provided by South Korean police.
