WION explains New Zealand's suitcase murders: Gory details of the chilling case of a mother, her children, and a dark secret
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Hakyung Lee Photograph: (X)
WION Explains | The gory details of New Zealand’s gruesome suitcase murders, which saw a mother kill her two children and abandon their bodies stuffed in suitcases. All you need to know.
In New Zealand, Hakyung Lee, a mother of two, has been found guilty of killing her children and stashing their bodies in suitcases. On Tuesday (Sep 23), the ruling in the high-profile case that came to be known as the ‘New Zealand suitcase murders’ was announced. The gruesome murder drew international attention and shocked many with its horrific details. Lee, "in sound mind, deliberately murdered" her children, eight-year-old Yuna Jo and six-year-old Minu Jo, before stuffing their corpses into suitcases, noted the prosecutor in her summary. What could cause a mother to murder her own children? Horrifying details of the 'Suicide murders' here.
Why did Hakyung Lee kill her children?
The mother of two, as per reports, went into depression after her husband Ian Jo was diagnosed with cancer in 2017. Within five months of the diagnosis, he died, leaving behind Lee and their two children.
According to reports, in the lead-up to Jo's death, the mother of two on several occasions had suggested that she and her children would also die if he did. She had allegedly also texted him saying, "if you die I will die along with our two kids". She had even told her friend that she would've been less sad if the children had died instead of her husband Ian Jo.
The horrifying way in which the bodies were discovered
According to a BBC report, on 10 August 2022, two people in New Zealand won an auction for an abandoned storage locker. They purchased the abandoned locker, which was filled with household items including bikes, clothing and two suitcases for $401 New Zealand dollars ($238). Later, they made a horrifying discovery - the bodies of two children tightly wrapped in plastic bags stuffed inside the suitcases.
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The children were identified as Yuna Jo and Minu Jo, who were eight and six when they were killed, and the storage locker was found to belong to their mother Hakyung Lee.
Autopsy of the corpses found no signs of trauma, but traces of Nortriptyline, an antidepressant were found in the chest cavity and liver of both the kids. The drug was prescribed to Lee when she told a doctor that she had trouble sleeping and felt dizzy following her husband's cancer diagnosis.
How was Lee arrested?
Lee was arrested in September 2022 in Ulsan, South Korea, after a global red notice was released against her. Prosecutors at the beginning of her trial alleged that Lee changed her name and relocated to South Korea a month after killing her children.
Hakyung Lee's lawyers argued that the death of her husband in 2017 had sent her into a depressive spiral. A forensic psychiatrist testified that she had experienced deep depression, suicidal thoughts, and guilt, and that she believed ending her children’s lives was the morally right action.
The prosecution, however, presented a contrasting narrative. They pointed to Lee’s efforts to conceal the bodies, her decision to leave the country, and steps she had taken to distance herself from her previous life — including changing her name and severing ties with New Zealand — as evidence that she knew her actions were wrong.
