Woman accused of murdering children, leaving their bodies in luggage on trial
Share this @internewscast.com

A trial opened in New Zealand today for a woman accused of murdering her two children and leaving their bodies in suitcases for years before they were discovered.
Hakyung Lee is charged with killing Minu Jo, six, and Yuna Jo, eight, in June 2018. She was extradited from South Korea to face the charges, which she denies.

The children’s remains were found inside luggage at an abandoned storage unit in Auckland in August 2022.

Lee, who is a New Zealand citizen, had traveled to South Korea and changed her name in 2018, shortly after the children are believed to have been killed.

Hakyung Lee stands in the dock at the High Court in Auckland, New Zealand, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Lawrence Smith/Stuff Pool Photo via AP)
It is believed Minu Jo, 6, and Yuna Jo, 8, died in 2018 and their remains were left in suitcases for four years. (AP)

She was born in South Korea and went by the name Ji Eun Lee previously.

A jury was chosen today for Lee’s trial at the High Court in Auckland, which is expected to take four weeks.

Prosecutors are due to outline their case tomorrow and said they would call 40 witnesses.

New Zealand news outlets reported that Lee was representing herself, although two lawyers were on standby to help her if needed.

She did not speak during the hearing today and shook her head, rather than answering through an interpreter, when asked how she pleaded to the charges.

Not guilty pleas were entered by Justice Geoffrey Venning, who is presiding.

The children’s cause of death remains unknown.

Court documents said they might have been killed by prescription sleeping medication prescribed to Lee and detected in their bodies by forensic investigators, but another cause of death hasn’t been ruled out, according to Radio New Zealand.

Lee’s husband died in 2017 after a period of deteriorating health, according to RNZ.

Justice Venning told the jury today that they would likely be asked to consider the matter of Lee’s sanity at the time of the alleged killings, news outlet Stuff reported.

Venning said the trial would be distressing to Lee and has granted her permission to watch proceedings from another room in the courthouse, Stuff said.

The children’s remains were discovered after Lee stopped paying rental fees for the Auckland storage unit when she ran into financial difficulties in 2022, RNZ reported.

The locker’s contents were auctioned online and the buyers found the bodies inside.

Lee, who is in her 40s, was arrested in September 2022 in South Korea and extradited two months later.

She had granted consent in writing to be extradited after a formal request from New Zealand to return her to face trial, South Korean officials said at the time.

South Korea’s Justice Ministry said it had provided New Zealand with unspecified “important evidence” in the case.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Bartender Allegedly Stabs Patron Multiple Times Following Dispute Over Bill

Left: Jason Wilfredo Rosario (Orange County Jail). Right: Grumpy”s Underground Bar in…

Teenager Faces Adult Charges for Group Home Playstation-Related Murder: District Attorney

Left inset: Ruben Whitworth (Broward County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Jordan Dowdy…

Suspect Arrested After Auburn University Professor’s Body Found in Kiesel Park

An Alabama man is behind bars after police found an Auburn University…

Man Testifies About Killing His Wife in Court

Insets: Ebony Owens and the Big Black River in Hinds County, Miss.,…

Duo Apprehended After Allegedly Escaping Robbery Scene

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Cindy Lynette Clark, 42, and Teresa Ann…

Suspected Police Officer’s Killer, Dezi Freeman, Likened to ‘Rambo’ by His Son

The son of suspected cop killer Dezi Freeman has compared his father…

Bid Farewell to Second Officer Lost in Porepunkah Ambush Today

The second police officer killed in a shooting ambush at Porepunkah in…

Families Seek Justice Following Tragic Machete Attack on Children, Aged 12 and 15

Dau Akueng, 15, and Chol Achiek, 12, were walking from a bus…

Man Awaiting Trial Arrested for Child Neglect after Concealing Fentanyl in Infant Car Seat

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – John Earlington Bentley, 46, was taken into…

Police Report: Father Accused in Tragic Death of 5-Year-Old Son

Share copy link Inset: Elious Rayne (GoFundMe). Background: Laron Gardner (WDRB). A…

Charming Man Arrested in Townhome Murder: Police Report

Inset: Matthew Dieringer (Scottsdale Police Department). The townhome complex where Matthew Dieringer…

Police Report: Woman Assisted Friend in Disposing of Flight Attendant’s Body

Left: Joni Thomas (Tarrant County Jail via KXAS). Right: Dennis Day (Tarrant…