Woman Sentenced to Life in Prison for New Zealand ‘Suitcase Murders‘
Auckland, New Zealand – Hakyung Lee has been sentenced to life in prison for the murders of her two children, Yuna, 8, and Minu, 6, whose remains were discovered in suitcases at an Auckland storage unit auction in 2022. Justice Geoffrey Venning of the Auckland High Court delivered the sentence today, ordering Lee to begin her term as a patient in a locked psychiatric facility under New Zealand’s compulsory mental health treatment law.
lee will eventually be required to return to prison to serve at least 17 years before becoming eligible for parole.
The case shocked New Zealand and garnered international attention after the children’s bodies were found by a family who unknowingly purchased the suitcases’ contents.The murders occurred in 2018, following the death of Lee’s husband.
Lee’s defense team argued for a reduced sentence, citing insanity at the time of the killings.They presented evidence suggesting Lee believed the deaths of the entire family were preferable following her husband’s passing.Court documents revealed Lee had attempted to kill herself and her children with an antidepressant, but miscalculated the dosage.
Justice Venning acknowledged Lee’s mental health struggles,noting she was likely suffering from atypical depression and prolonged grief at the time of the crimes. However, he stated that her actions were “calculated.” He observed that Lee was unable to cope with the responsibilities of raising her children after her husband’s death.
“You relied heavily on him during your marriage, you could not cope when he became seriously unwell, and perhaps you could not bear to have the children around you as a constant reminder of your former happy life, which had been cruelly taken from you,” the judge said during sentencing.
Lee, who sat quietly with her head bowed throughout the hearing, had fled to South Korea after the murders, changing her name. She was arrested in Ulsan in September 2022 and later extradited back to New Zealand.
The sentencing hearing included victim impact statements that highlighted the profound grief inflicted on Lee’s family. Her mother, Choon Ja Lee, expressed her anguish in a statement read by prosecutors, stating, “If she wanted to die, why didn’t she die alone? Why did she take the innocent children with her?”
Jimmy Jo, the brother of Lee’s late husband, shared his devastation, stating, “I never imagined such a profound tragedy would ever befall our family.” He also revealed that their mother remains unaware of the children’s deaths. “It was my late brother’s will that I protect them,” Jo said. “This is an ongoing sentence from which I can never be paroled.”
