The arrest of a 42-year-old woman suspected of killing two children in New Zealand in 2018 and hiding their bodies in bags was made public by South Korean police on Thursday.
After a New Zealand family purchased abandoned items, including two suitcases, from a storage facility in Auckland in an online auction, the bodies of the two children were discovered last month. Police have stated that there is no evidence linking the family to the children’s deaths.
At the time of their deaths, which are thought to have happened in the Auckland region, the kids ranged in age from 5 to 10. The suitcases had been in storage for at least three to four years, according to the police.
How did the police respond to the arrest?
The woman, who is thought to be the mother of the two deceased children, was reportedly detained in response to a request from New Zealand, according to police from both nations.
The woman was taken into custody, according to South Korean police, in Ulsan, a port city in the southeast.
According to a statement from Seoul’s National Police Agency, “police apprehended the suspect at an apartment in Ulsan on Thursday following a stakeout with tips on her whereabouts and CCTV footage.”
The woman, according to the authorities, was born in South Korea, went to New Zealand, and then obtained citizenship there. In 2018, her return to South Korea was documented in immigration papers.
According to Park Seung-hoon, a representative of the National Police Agency, the Seoul High Court will now decide following a review of the case whether she should be extradited.
Park stated that although a time frame had not yet been established, the review had to occur within two months.
A treaty between New Zealand and South Korea permits the extradition of suspects to both nations.
The inquiry was “extremely tough,” according to Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’amanuia Vaaelua of the New Zealand police.
“The help of the Korean authorities and the coordination by our New Zealand Police Interpol team has all been crucial in having someone in custody overseas within such a short amount of time,” he said.
