EVIL IN THE SUITCASE: Mother Found Guilty of Killing Her Two Young Children and Stuffing Their Bodies in Storage Unit
- A mother’s shocking crime has left a community reeling after she was found guilty of murdering her two young children and hiding their bodies in a storage unit for four years.
- Hakyung Lee, 43, gave her children, Yuna and Minu, a lethal dose of prescription medication before abandoning their bodies in suitcases at a storage facility in Auckland.
- The horrific discovery was made in 2022 when the storage unit was sold at auction and the new owners found the children’s remains wrapped in plastic bags and fully clothed.
In a heartbreaking development, the court heard how Lee’s decision to kill her children was not an “altruistic” act by a grieving widow, but rather a selfish attempt to free herself from the burden of parenting alone. Crown prosecutor Natalie Walker told the court that Lee’s actions were “consistent with her wanting a new life on her own and a new name.”
Lee’s children, Yuna, 8, and Minu, 6, were found dead in the storage unit after their mother had given them a dose of nortriptyline mixed in juice. The medication had been prescribed to Lee the previous year after she told her GP she was having trouble sleeping. Defence witness Yvette Kelly testified that Lee had said she gave the children the medication, and they became drowsy before toddling off to their own beds and falling asleep.
The court heard that Lee’s husband, Ian Jo, had died of cancer in 2017, and Lee had become isolated and dependent on him. Walker said that Lee’s actions after the children’s deaths were “consistent with her wanting to start a new life” and that she had applied for a change of name and moved her belongings, including the suitcases, to the storage unit.
Lee was found guilty of two counts of murder after a two-week trial, and she showed no reaction as the verdict was delivered. She will be sentenced at a later date.
The discovery of the children’s remains was made in August 2022, after the storage unit was sold at auction to a family who took the suitcases home and found the bodies wrapped in plastic bags and fully clothed. The police were called, and an investigation was launched.
Lee was found by her mother and her mother’s pastor after being admitted to hospital for mental health treatment in South Korea in 2022. When asked about her children’s whereabouts, she told them: “I have no children.”
The case has shocked the community, and the verdict has brought some closure to the family and friends of the victims. However, the question remains: how could a mother do such a thing to her own children?