Police Arrest Suspect in Ulsan in 'Child's Body Found in Bag in New Zealand' Case (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Cho, Hyungmin Kim] A local woman, a suspect in New Zealand's 'Child Corpse in Bag Case,' was apprehended in Ulsan.

The National Police Agency announced on the 15th that the Ulsan Jungbu Police Station arrested a woman in her 40s, identified as A, who is suspected of murdering her two children aged 7 and 10 in Auckland, New Zealand, around 2018, at an apartment in Ulsan. According to the police, A, who had immigrated to New Zealand and acquired local citizenship, entered Korea to evade capture after the crime. It is known that her husband had previously died of illness in New Zealand.

New Zealand police began investigating the case as a murder after two elementary school students' corpses were found inside a bag purchased at an online auction by a resident of Auckland last August. After receiving a cooperation request regarding A, the National Police Agency tracked her whereabouts through her domestic stay records, medical records, and phone numbers in cooperation with New Zealand Interpol. Recently, the detective team of Ulsan Jungbu Police Station obtained intelligence on A's location, confirmed surrounding CCTV footage, and after a stakeout, secured her custody on the day.

The Ministry of Justice also received an urgent extradition detention request from New Zealand for A and ordered urgent extradition detention at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office.

Accordingly, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office obtained an urgent extradition detention warrant and a search warrant for murder charges from the Seoul High Court and secured A's custody and searched her residence together with the police on the day.

Separately from the urgent extradition detention, New Zealand authorities must formally request criminal extradition to the Ministry of Justice within 45 days according to the treaty. The Ministry of Justice is expected to review New Zealand's request and decide whether to order the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office to conduct a criminal extradition review.

Upon receiving the Minister of Justice's order for extradition review, the High Prosecutors' Office must request the court to conduct the extradition review. Subsequently, A will undergo a domestic criminal extradition trial, and the Ministry of Justice will make the final decision on whether to repatriate her to New Zealand.

Kang Gitaek, head of the International Cooperation Division of the National Police Agency Interpol, said, "We closely cooperated with New Zealand Interpol and persistently tracked and arrested the suspect who committed this heinous crime," adding, "We will strengthen international cooperation to capture fugitives both domestically and abroad."