A woman has been convicted of murdering her two children and concealing their bodies inside suitcases for four years until their eventual discovery. The decision was reached by the jury at the High Court in Auckland, New Zealand, who dismissed claims of insanity put forth by Hakyung Lee’s defense team. Lee, who fled to South Korea following the killings, was brought back for trial after being extradited. The jurors swiftly reached their verdict after deliberating on Tuesday morning.
The charges against Lee stem from the deaths of Minu Jo, aged six, and Yuna Jo, aged eight, in June 2018. The children’s remains were found in luggage at an abandoned storage facility in Auckland in August 2022. Despite being a New Zealand citizen, Lee had traveled to South Korea and changed her name post-incident. Previously known as Ji Eun Lee, she was born in South Korea.
Following her extradition from South Korea in November 2022, the 45-year-old defendant denied the accusations, with her legal team arguing her mental state at the time was unsound. While admitting to administering an anti-depressant to the children, Lee’s lawyers claimed that her actions were a result of mental deterioration triggered by personal tragedies, including her husband’s death.
Prosecutors contested Lee’s insanity defense, asserting that her actions displayed premeditation and a lack of severe mental impairment. According to the prosecution, Lee’s motives were driven by selfishness as she sought to start a new life without her children.
The grim discovery of the children’s remains came about when Lee failed to maintain payments for the storage unit due to financial troubles in 2022. The unit’s contents were auctioned online, leading to the shocking revelation of the bodies.
After the recent verdict, Lee was ordered to remain in custody until her sentencing on November 26 by Justice Geoffrey Venning. In New Zealand, a murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence, with a minimum term of 10 years before eligibility for parole. During the trial, Lee was permitted to observe proceedings from a separate room due to the distressing nature of the case. Reports from New Zealand indicate that she appeared solemn during the verdict, with her head bowed and hair obscuring her face.
