New Zealand Woman Convicted of Murder in Suitcase Case

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A jury in Auckland found Hakyung Lee guilty of murdering her two children and leaving their bodies in suitcases for years before they were discovered.

Lee fled to South Korea after the killings, changed her name, and was extradited back to New Zealand in November 2022. Minu Jo, 6, and Yuna Jo, 8, were killed in June 2018, and their remains were found inside luggage stored in an Auckland storage unit in August 2022.

The defense had sought an insanity verdict, arguing Lee was insane at the time of the killings, but prosecutors said there was a "cold calculation" to her actions. Lawyers for Lee said she killed the children after descending into madness following the death of her husband, but the trial rejected the insanity defense.

In New Zealand, a murder defendant seeking an insanity defense must show they were incapable of understanding what they were doing or that it was wrong. Prosecutors argued depression may have affected Lee, but it was not severe enough to negate criminal responsibility.

Lee stopped paying the rent on the Auckland storage unit, and the locker’s contents were auctioned online after financial difficulties in 2022. The buyers discovered the two children's remains inside the suitcases.

Justice Geoffrey Venning ordered that Lee remain in custody until sentencing on November 26. He noted that murder carries a mandatory life sentence in New Zealand, with judges required to set a minimum term of at least 10 years before an offender can apply for parole. With the trial proceedings stressing her, Venning allowed Lee to watch the proceedings from another room during the trial, and she rejoined the dock for the verdict, head bowed and hair shielding her face, local reports said.