South Korean police say they have arrested a woman accused of murdering her two children who were found in suitcases in New Zealand last month.
In a case that shook the nation, strangers who had purchased the abandoned suitcases from an Auckland storage facility discovered the bodies.
The bodies were thought to have been kept in storage for a few years. The victims were reported to be between the ages of 7 and 10.
New Zealand has applied for the woman’s extradition from South Korea.
After announcing last month that they thought the woman was in South Korea, Auckland police said they had collaborated extensively with South Korean authorities in their search for her.
Following the murders of the children in 2018, the woman escaped to South Korea, according to South Korean police. She is a 42-year-old New Zealand national of Korean descent.
She was the subject of an international Interpol arrest warrant. She was taken into custody on Thursday during a late-night search of an apartment in Ulsan, South Korea.
According to Seoul’s National Police agency, it came following a stakeout after detectives got information regarding her whereabouts.
When they were able to identify the children, whose names have not been released, New Zealand police said last month that they were looking for the woman.
“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,” said New Zealand Police Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’amanuia Vaaelua on Thursday.
Prior to the suspect’s extradition to New Zealand, where she is accused of murder, police have asked that bail not be granted.
The father of the children had passed away from cancer before his children’s deaths, according to local media in that country. The family had lived in Auckland for a few years. The grandparents of the kids reportedly still reside in New Zealand.
Early in August, the children’s remains were found when a different family purchased a trailer-load of stuff from an online auction, among them the suitcases.
Officers claimed that family had gone through a considerable deal of distress after the finding despite having no link to the tragedy.
