A woman, Hakyung Lee, has been found guilty of murdering her two young children after concealing their bodies in suitcases at a rented storage unit for four years. The High Court rendered the verdict on Tuesday, convicting Lee for the deaths of eight-year-old Yuna Jo and six-year-old Minu Jo.
During the trial, it emerged that in June 2018, Lee gave her children a lethal dose of prescription medication before placing their bodies in suitcases at a storage facility in Auckland. She then flew to South Korea, where she assumed a new identity and severed ties with acquaintances and relatives.
The remains were not uncovered until August 2022 when the storage fees went unpaid, leading to an auction of the unit’s contents. The new owners made the grim discovery upon opening the suitcases at their residence.
Due to the extended time before the remains were found, a forensic pathologist found it challenging to determine the exact cause of death. The children were discovered clothed and wrapped in multiple layers of plastic bags, raising questions about whether the medication was used to sedate them before their deaths.
After fleeing to South Korea, Lee was eventually located by her mother in a hospital, where she was receiving mental health treatment in 2022. Upon questioning about her children, Lee denied having any, leading to her arrest and extradition back to New Zealand for trial.
Lee’s defense argued that she was not criminally responsible due to mental illness, linking her actions to a breakdown following her husband’s death in 2017. However, the prosecution contended that Lee’s meticulous planning and rational decision-making indicated otherwise, portraying the murders as a calculated attempt to evade single parenthood burdens.
Following a two-week trial and brief jury deliberation, Lee was convicted on both murder charges. She was remanded in custody for a mental health evaluation before sentencing, scheduled for November 26, in accordance with New Zealand’s mandatory life sentence for murder, with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years.
Throughout the emotionally charged trial, Justice Geoffrey Venning granted Lee the option to participate via videolink from a separate courtroom, accompanied by an interpreter, recognizing the distressing nature of the proceedings for her.