Hakyung Lee: New Zealand mum gets life in jail for 'suitcase' murder of kids
A New Zealand mother who murdered her two children and hid their bodies in suitcases has been sentenced to at least 17 years in prison, local media report.
Hakyung Lee was convicted earlier on two murder charges over the deaths of her children, Yuna, 8, and Minu Jo, 6.
The children’s remains were discovered in August 2022 in suitcases bought at a clearance auction that had been stored in a warehouse for about four years, according to police.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Lee was arrested by authorities in South Korea and extradited to New Zealand in September 2022.
At her sentencing in Auckland on Wednesday, she was handed a sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years, Radio New Zealand and Stuff reported.
She will begin her sentence as a special patient under the country’s mental health act.
Justice Geoffrey Venning concluded Lee had killed her children because she could not cope with responsibility of caring for them following her husband’s death, Radio New Zealand reported.
“You relied heavily on him during your marriage, you could not cope when he became seriously unwell, and perhaps you could not bear to have the children around you as a constant reminder of your former happy life, which had been cruelly taken from you,” Justice Venning said.
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