A mother has been convicted of the murder of her two children and concealing their bodies in suitcases, which were later sold at an auction to another family.
Yuna Jo and Minu Jo, aged eight and six at the time of their deaths, were found inside suitcases purchased at a storage unit auction in August 2022. Authorities estimated that the children had been deceased for three to four years before their remains were uncovered.
Hakyung Lee, 44, the mother of the two deceased children, initially pleaded not guilty to the charges but was found guilty by the jury after a brief two-hour deliberation. She now faces a potential life sentence in prison with a minimum non-parole period of ten years.
Originally from South Korea and holding New Zealand citizenship, Lee was extradited from her home country in 2022 following a police investigation identifying her as the children’s mother. She was convicted of murder at the Auckland High Court after a two-week trial.
The bodies of Yuna and Minu were discovered after Lee ceased paying rental fees for the storage unit in Auckland due to financial issues in 2022. Subsequently, the locker’s contents were auctioned online, leading to the macabre discovery by the new owners.
During the trial, it was revealed that both children were found fully clothed and wrapped individually in multiple layers of plastic bags.
A post-mortem report highlighted the challenge in pinpointing the exact cause of death for the siblings due to the four-year gap between the murders and the discovery of the bodies. The prosecution mentioned the potential involvement of Nortriptyline, an antidepressant, in the homicides.
It was disclosed that Lee had obtained a prescription for the antidepressant in August 2017, following her husband’s cancer diagnosis. The defense argued that Lee’s mental state deteriorated after her husband’s passing, leading her to believe that their deaths should coincide with her own suicide attempt.
While acknowledging that Lee did cause her children’s deaths, the defense contended that she was “not guilty of murder by reason of insanity.” In contrast, the prosecution asserted that Lee’s actions, including concealing the bodies and changing her identity, indicated rational thought rather than insanity.
Crown prosecutor Natalie Walker emphasized that Lee’s actions reflected calculated decisions to end her children’s lives and evade accountability, rather than a delusional act of a grieving mother. Walker further characterized the murders as a selfish attempt by Lee to relieve herself of the responsibility of single parenting.
Lee remained stoic as the jury delivered the verdict, and she is scheduled for sentencing in November.
