A man in St. John's has been charged with second-degree murder after four boys found a dismembered female body in a suitcase on Friday.

Warren Patrick White lunges at the media while being escorted to a St. John's courtroom on Saturday. White is charged with second-degree murder. (CBC)The boys, all about 10 years old, were playing cops and robbers Friday afternoon in the backyard of a home on Warbury Street, in the city's west end, when one spotted the suitcase, said Paula Williams, the mother of one of the children.

"They said it was a suitcase and they hauled [it] out — you know kids today, they [thought] it was money or something," Williams told CBC News.

"They hauled it out, and it was a dead body."

The discovery shocked the children, she said.

"They came up bawling out and screaming out, and all the kids came down to look around, being nosy," Williams said.

Williams said her son was shaken and threw up several times, but seemed to be fine several hours later.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary was alerted and by Friday evening, half a dozen police vehicles lined the residential street.

"We are pulling out all of our investigative teams, everything that is necessary for us to complete a full investigation," Const. Paul Davis said Friday.

He said the RNC will ensure the children get any help they may need to cope with what they saw.

Warren Patrick White, 35, has been charged with second-degree murder and performing an indignity to a dead body. He lunged at a reporter when he appeared in court on Saturday.

Police have identified the remains as those of Amanda Power, who they believe was killed between May 30 and June 6.

Police have not given hometowns for White or Power.

White is to undergo a psychiatric assessment Saturday night and make another court appearance Sunday morning.