A mother in New Zealand has been convicted of murdering her two children and leaving their bodies in suitcases for five years, in a case that has shocked the country.
Hakyung Lee, 45, a New Zealand citizen originally from South Korea, was found guilty at the Auckland High Court on Tuesday following a three-week trial.
The remains of her children, Yuna Jo, aged eight, and Minu Jo, aged six, were found inside suitcases in 2022 by a family who had purchased the contents of an abandoned storage unit at an auction in Auckland.
It was suspected that the bodies had been stored since August 2017, around the time Lee last collected her prescription antidepressant medication from a pharmacy.
Lee was arrested in Ulsan, South Korea, in September 2022 after police identified her as the mother of the deceased children, and she was subsequently extradited to New Zealand.
Lee, who pleaded not guilty, represented herself at the High Court. She sat through the three-week trial with a translator and a security guard but did not speak or answer any questions. She kept her head bowed, with her hair partially covering her face.
During the trial, Lee admitted giving her children antidepressant medication and placing their bodies in the luggage. She argued that she was not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, claiming that she had been mentally unwell at the time of the killings.
The defence claimed that Lee’s mental health had deteriorated following her husband’s death and that she intended her entire family to die together. She tried to kill herself and her children with antidepressants, but woke up to find her children dead.
The children were killed seven months after Lee’s husband died from cancer in 2017.
Prosecutors argued that Lee had displayed clear rational thinking by concealing the bodies of her children, changing her name, and moving back to South Korea.
They described the murders as a “selfish act” by Lee “to free herself from the burden of parenting alone”.
Lee, who faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, is scheduled to be sentenced in November.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email [email protected], or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
