A woman, Hakyung Lee, has been found guilty of murdering her two young children, Yuna Jo and Minu Jo, after concealing their bodies in suitcases inside a rented storage unit for four years. The High Court delivered the verdict on Tuesday, convicting Lee for the deaths of her eight-year-old and six-year-old children.
According to court proceedings, in June 2018, Lee administered a lethal dose of prescription medication to her children before placing their remains in suitcases at a storage facility in Auckland. Subsequently, she departed New Zealand for South Korea, where she assumed a new identity and severed ties with acquaintances and relatives.
The bodies remained undiscovered until August 2022 when the storage fees went unpaid due to financial difficulties. The suitcases were auctioned off, leading the new owners to make the grim discovery when inspecting the luggage at home. A forensic pathologist noted the challenge of determining the exact cause of death due to the extended time elapsed before the remains were found.
Both children were found clothed and wrapped in multiple layers of plastic bags, raising uncertainty about whether the medication overdose directly caused their deaths or if other means were involved after sedation. Lee was eventually located in a South Korean hospital by her mother, where she was receiving mental health treatment in 2022.
Upon her arrest and extradition to New Zealand, Lee’s defense argued that her mental illness stemming from her husband’s 2017 cancer death rendered her not criminally responsible. They claimed she believed killing her children was morally justified to prevent them from finding her deceased body. However, the Crown Prosecutor contended that Lee’s actions displayed deliberate planning and rational decision-making, refuting claims of mental incapacity.
After a two-week trial and three hours of jury deliberation, Lee was convicted on both counts of murder. Justice Geoffrey Venning remanded her into custody for a mental health evaluation pending sentencing on November 26. In New Zealand, murder convictions mandate a life sentence with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years.
During the trial, Justice Venning acknowledged the distressing nature of the proceedings for Lee and permitted her to participate via videolink from a separate courtroom with an interpreter.