A New Zealand mother, Hakyung Lee, 44, has been found guilty of murdering her two children and hiding their bodies in suitcases, a case that has shocked the nation. The Auckland High Court delivered the verdict on Tuesday following a two-week trial, during which Lee pleaded not guilty.

Her defense argued that she was insane at the time of the killings, which occurred several months after her husband succumbed to cancer. However, prosecutors contended that her actions were premeditated. The children’s remains were discovered in 2022 by a family who bought items from an abandoned storage unit in Auckland, believed to have been retaining the bodies for several years.

Lee was arrested in South Korea in September 2022 and extradited to New Zealand later that year. During the trial, a pathologist reported that the children died from homicide, with no signs of trauma and the presence of Nortriptyline, an antidepressant prescription Lee had filled shortly after her husband’s diagnosis.

While the defense maintained that Lee’s mental health deteriorated post-tragedy, leading her to mistakenly attempt to kill herself and her children, the prosecution argued that her subsequent actions exhibited rational thought. Lee showed no reaction when the verdict was announced, and she is due for sentencing in November, facing a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.



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