A mother has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of her two young children, whose bodies she concealed in a suitcase left in a storage unit for four years.
The Tragic Discovery
Hakyung Lee, 44, killed her eight-year-old daughter Yuna Jo and six-year-old son Minu Jo back in 2018. Their remains went undiscovered until August 2022, after Lee stopped paying the rental fees for her storage unit. The contents of the locker were subsequently sold in an online auction.
The unsuspecting buyers who purchased the suitcases made the horrific find upon taking them home. Both children were discovered fully clothed and wrapped in multiple layers of plastic.
Investigation and International Manhunt
A post-mortem examination could not pinpoint the exact cause of death due to the advanced decomposition of the bodies. However, a pathologist concluded the children died by homicide, with the antidepressant Nortriptyline identified as a potential means.
Lee, a New Zealand citizen who had changed her name from Ji Eun (Jasmine) Lee, fled to South Korea shortly after the murders. She severed contact with friends and family, evading detection for years until 2022, when her mother found her receiving mental health treatment in a hospital.
When her mother inquired about the children, Lee chillingly responded, ‘I have no children.’
Court Proceedings and Conflicting Narratives
Lee pleaded guilty by reason of insanity. Her defence lawyers argued that she spiralled into mental illness after her husband died from cancer in 2017. They claimed she believed it best for the family to die together and attempted a suicide pact using the antidepressant, but miscalculated the dose, leading to the children's deaths while she survived.
However, Crown prosecutor Natalie Walker presented a different account to the Auckland High Court. She suggested Lee's actions were a ‘selfish act to free herself from the burden of parenting alone’, describing it as a calculated and ruthless act, not an altruistic one borne of insanity.
As the life sentence was delivered, Lee was seen looking down at her feet in the courtroom.
