(CNN) — New Zealand police have identified two children whose remains were found earlier this month in suitcases bought by a family at an online auction.
In a communiqué on Friday, police confirmed that both children have been identified and their family has asked that their names be withheld.
Police launched a homicide investigation following the remains were discovered in South Auckland on August 11.
Earlier this month, Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said the boys were likely between 5 and 10 years old when they died. He said investigators believed they had been dead for three or four years and the cause of death was unknown.
According to the Seoul police, a woman believed to be who is the mother of the two children I was in South Korea on August 22. The South Korean police are cooperating with the New Zealand authorities through Interpol.
The storage company that sold the luggage is also helping police with their investigations into other items that may be related to the bags, police said earlier this month.
Police have stressed that the family who bought the suitcases is not connected to the children’s deaths.
