A woman is currently on trial in New Zealand, facing allegations of murdering her two children and concealing their remains in suitcases. Hakyung Lee, who was extradited from South Korea to New Zealand in November 2022, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder.
The remains of Lee’s children were found in suitcases by a family that purchased items from an abandoned storage unit at an auction in Auckland. These bodies are believed to have been stored in the unit for several years prior to their discovery.
The trial commenced on Monday and is expected to span up to four weeks, with the prosecution set to begin its arguments on Tuesday, as reported by local media. Due to the high-profile nature of the case, the presiding judge instructed the jury that they must base their verdict solely on the evidence presented. Justice Geoffrey Venning mentioned that a significant aspect of the trial will involve assessing whether Lee was insane at the time of the children’s deaths.
Hakyung Lee, 44, is representing herself in court, with two court-appointed lawyers available to assist her if needed. She did not respond when prompted to enter a plea on the first day of the trial. Born in South Korea, Lee lived in Auckland for several years before returning to South Korea in 2018. The children, aged six and eight at the time of their deaths, passed away sometime after the death of their father in 2017. The exact timeline of the children’s deaths remains unclear.
Their bodies were uncovered in August 2022 after a family purchased a trailer of goods, including the suitcases, during an online auction intended to clear abandoned items. Authorities confirmed that the buyers had no connection to the case. Following the issuance of a global red notice by Interpol, Lee was arrested in Ulsan, South Korea, in September 2022.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn83jjx9pjvo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss