In the ongoing trial of Hakyung Lee for the murder of her two children, whose bodies were discovered in suitcases in New Zealand, court proceedings have disclosed that anti-depressant drugs were present in their remains, with the case centering on her mental state at the time of the deaths.
The grim discovery was made in August 2022 when a family purchased the contents of an abandoned storage unit at auction for NZ$401 and found the bodies of six-year-old Minu Jo and eight-year-old Yuna Jo inside suitcases, emitting a foul odor. The children had been killed in mid-2018, approximately four years earlier, and their remains were hidden there by their mother, Hakyung Lee, only coming to light because she stopped paying for the storage, leading to its auction.
Lee, 44, is on trial in the High Court at Auckland, charged with two counts of murder, though she accepts causing the deaths but pleads not guilty by reason of insanity. The trial opened recently with detailed arguments from both the Crown prosecution and the defense, with Lee representing herself but assisted by standby counsel, focusing on whether she was insane when the children were killed.
Crown prosecutor Natalie Walker presented evidence that traces of the anti-depressant Nortriptyline were found in the chest cavity and liver of both children, as per toxicology reports. The pathologist concluded the children died by homicide associated with the drug, though the exact cause couldn’t be determined due to decomposition over time, and it was unclear if the drug alone caused death or incapacitated them for other means.
The Crown argued that Lee’s actions after the deaths—wrapping the bodies in plastic bags, sealing them in suitcases with duct tape, storing them, changing her name, and flying business class to South Korea a month later—demonstrate she was sane and knew her actions were wrong. Walker emphasized that these behaviors indicated premeditation and awareness, contradicting claims of insanity.
In contrast, defense counsel Lorraine Smith contended that Lee’s mental health deteriorated severely after her husband, Ian Jo, died of cancer in November 2017, leading to a “descent into madness” where she believed it was best for the family to die together. Smith claimed Lee took antidepressants herself and gave them to the children but accidentally overdosed them, waking to find them dead, and that she was insane at the time due to grief and isolation.
Background details revealed Lee moved to New Zealand from South Korea as a child, later returning for studies, and met her husband at church; they married in 2006, with Ian working as an airport supervisor and Lee caring for the children. After her husband’s death, Lee took the children on expensive trips, including stays at Hilton hotels, spending thousands of dollars while hiding their father’s death from them, as shown in spending data presented in court.
The trial is expected to last up to four weeks, with the jury tasked solely with determining Lee’s sanity at the time of the murders. If found not guilty by reason of insanity, she could be committed to a psychiatric facility rather than prison, underscoring the complex interplay of mental health and criminal responsibility in this tragic case.