A woman accused of murdering her two children and hiding their remains in suitcases is going on trial in New Zealand, an event that has shaken the country to its core.
Hakyung Lee, extradited from South Korea to New Zealand in November 2022, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder. The tragic discovery of her children's remains came when a family bought the contents of an abandoned storage unit at an auction in Auckland.
Authorities believe the bodies were stored for several years. Ms. Lee, who is now 44 years old, is a New Zealand national born in South Korea. At the time of the alleged crime, she had been living in Auckland for several years. Reports indicate that the children's father passed away from cancer in 2017.
The children are believed to have died some time after that, but precise timelines remain unclear, with their ages reported to be between six and ten at the time of death. Following their death, Ms. Lee reportedly left New Zealand for South Korea in 2018.
In August 2022, the bodies were discovered after a family purchased a trailer-load of goods, including the suitcases, in an online auction aimed at clearing a storage unit of abandoned items. Local media indicated that the buyers were not connected to the deaths in any way.
Lee was apprehended in Ulsan, South Korea in September 2022 after Interpol issued a global red notice for her arrest. The identities of the deceased children remain undisclosed, as per suppression orders requested by their extended family.
