New South Wales Police announced Monday that remains found in a suitcase near Goulburn are not human [1, 2].
The discovery initially triggered a criminal investigation into a potential suspicious death in the southern region of the state. The determination that the remains are non-human ends the search for a potential homicide victim and relieves local concerns regarding public safety in the area.
The suitcase was discovered in Oallen, a rural area in southern New South Wales [1, 2]. Police treated the scene as a potential crime scene while awaiting forensic verification of the contents.
Superintendent Linda Bradbury said the results of the initial investigation provided a positive outcome for the community. "Some good news here that we don’t have a suspicious death of a human on our hands," Bradbury said [1].
While the remains have been ruled out as human, police are not yet certain what the biological material is. Bradbury said that authorities are still undertaking more forensic work to identify the specific nature of the remains [1].
A spokesperson for the NSW Police said they could confirm the non-human nature of the remains through other means [2]. Because no human victim was involved, police concluded that no crime had been committed [1, 2].
The incident had drawn significant attention to the Oallen bushland as investigators combed the area for clues. With the forensic evidence now clear, the focus of the investigation has shifted from a death inquiry to a biological identification process.
“"We can identify that they’re not human."”
The resolution of this case prevents the allocation of significant homicide investigation resources to a non-criminal event. By quickly ruling out a human victim, New South Wales Police have mitigated community alarm in the Goulburn region, though the remaining forensic work to identify the animal or organic matter remains a procedural necessity.
