In a somber development from New Zealand, a jury has delivered a guilty verdict against a woman accused of murdering her two young children, aged six and eight. The deeply disturbing case involved her hiding their bodies in suitcases before escaping to her home country of South Korea.
This conviction of Hakyung Lee, a New Zealand citizen, follows an intense, nearly two-week trial held at the Auckland High Court. The verdict comes almost three years after her arrest in South Korea, and she is now expected to receive a life prison sentence.
During the compelling trial, prosecutor Natalie Walker presented evidence that Ms. Lee confessed to “causing the deaths of her children” in 2018 by administering nortriptyline, an antidepressant. While medical experts were unable to pinpoint the exact time or cause of death with certainty, Ms. Lee also admitted to the grim act of wrapping her children’s bodies in three layers of plastic bags, then placing them inside suitcases, which she further sealed with more plastic and duct tape.
Despite her admission, Ms. Lee, 45, had entered a plea of not guilty, citing a severe mental illness. Her defense argued that after the death of her husband in 2017, her mental state deteriorated, leading her to decide to end both her own life and that of her children. Her lawyer stated that following the tragic deaths, Ms. Lee attempted suicide unsuccessfully before ultimately fleeing to South Korea.
The investigation into Ms. Lee began in 2022, when the children’s remains were discovered. The suitcases containing their bodies had been sold as part of an online auction of abandoned items from an Auckland storage facility. The new owners, upon their horrifying discovery, promptly notified authorities. Police estimate the bodies could have been stored in the facility for up to four years.
South Korean police, utilizing medical records and phone numbers, successfully located Ms. Lee. She was apprehended in a residence in the southeastern city of Ulsan in September 2022 and subsequently extradited to New Zealand to face justice.
Her official sentencing is scheduled for November 26.