Police are continuing to carry out a number of inquiries following the discovery of human remains at a home in Auckland last week.
The remains were removed from a home on Marlborough Street, in Mt Eden, to a mortuary late yesterday afternoon, Auckland City CIB Acting Detective Inspector, Glenn Baldwin, confirmed in a statement today.
Police have also removed a large piece of concrete from the scene, which Institute of Environmental Science and Research scientists will continue to examine over the coming days.
A post mortem examination of the deceased person commenced this morning at the Auckland Hospital Mortuary. The pathologist's findings are not expected to be available to police for some time, police said.
The identity of the deceased remains unknown.
There are considerable challenges for police who remain open minded around their identity, including the possibility the deceased may have died some years ago, Mr Baldwin said.
Due to the circumstances around the incident, formal identification will require forensic evidence, with a DNA profile taking one to two weeks. However, identification may take several weeks while police and ESR find a comparative DNA sample to match to the deceased's DNA.
The focus of the investigation continues to be on establishing the identity of the deceased, which includes identifying and speaking with former occupants and residents of the property, Mr Baldwin said.
Police remain at the address while the scene examination continues.
“This is a challenging and complex investigation which is expected to take some time before we are in a position to establish the circumstances surrounding the death,” Mr Baldwin said.
A karakia at the site is being arranged with local kaumatua.
“We have had a really positive response from people contacting us with information on 105, which has been really helpful.
“That said, we continue to seek assistance from the public to identify and locate former occupants, owners and residents at the premises, which we understand was possibly a former boarding house.”
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