Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
She tried to take her own life as well, but woke up to find the children non-responsive.
Three years after a shocking discovery in an Auckland storage unit, a mother has been handed a life sentence for killing her two young children and keeping their bodies in suitcases for years, the BBC reports.
The case, which first came to light when a family found human remains in suitcases purchased at auction, has since gripped audiences around the world.
Authorities said the victims were 8-year-old Yuna Jo and 6-year-old Minu Jo. Their mother, 45-year-old Hakyung Lee, was convicted in late November after a three-week trial that examined her actions and mental state.
According to Reuters, Lee had pleaded not guilty due to insanity.
Courtroom findings
During the proceedings, the High Court heard that Lee had attempted to take her own life and her children’s by giving them an antidepressant.
AP reports, she survived the attempt, according to evidence presented, but awoke to find the children unresponsive.
The court was told she had been overwhelmed by grief following the death of her husband and believed that “it would be best if the rest of the family were also dead.”
According to CBS News, Justice Geoffrey Venning reviewed psychiatric assessments indicating Lee suffered from atypical depression and prolonged grief at the time of the killings. While noting that her mental condition contributed to her decisions, he also described her actions as deliberate.
Aftermath and family grief
Following the deaths, prosecutors said Lee changed her name and left for South Korea, where she was arrested in Ulsan in September 2022 after local authorities identified her as the children’s mother. She was later extradited to New Zealand.
The sentencing hearing also included emotional statements from relatives. Lee’s mother described years of watching her daughter struggle after her husband died of cancer in 2017, expressing regret for not urging her to seek help.
“If she wanted to die, why didn’t she die alone? Why did she take the innocent children with her?” she wrote.
The children’s uncle, Jimmy Jo, told the court the family remains shattered. “It was my late brother’s will that I protect them,” he said. “This is an ongoing sentence from which I can never be paroled.”
Life term ordered
Lee will serve her sentence initially in a secure psychiatric unit under New Zealand’s compulsory treatment laws.
Once she is considered stable enough, she will be transferred to prison, where she must serve at least 17 years before being considered for parole.
“You relied heavily on him during your marriage, you could not cope when he became seriously unwell,” Justice Venning said, adding that the children may have been a constant reminder of the life she had lost.
Lee, who watched much of the trial remotely from another courtroom, remained silent with her head lowered as the sentence was delivered.
Sources: The Express, CNN, AP, CBS News, The Independent, The Guardian, BBC News, Reuters
