New Zealand Court Sentences Mother to Life Imprisonment for Killing Her Two Children and Fleeing the Country

Islamabad (Qudrat Daily) — A New Zealand court has sentenced South Korea–born Hakkyung Lee to life imprisonment after finding her guilty of murdering her two young children in 2018 and fleeing the country.

According to international media reports, the mother deliberately killed her 8-year-old and 6-year-old children by giving them a fatal overdose of medication. After the murders, she wrapped their bodies in plastic, placed them inside suitcases, and abandoned them in a storage locker.

One year before the crime, the children’s father had died of cancer, leaving the family in emotional distress.

The shocking case resurfaced four years later in 2022 when a family purchased the contents of the storage locker through an online auction. Upon opening it, they discovered the decomposed human remains inside the suitcases and immediately alerted police.

New Zealand authorities launched a homicide investigation in 2022, but by that time, the suspect had already left for South Korea. New Zealand subsequently filed an extradition request in November 2022, leading to Hakkyung Lee’s arrest and transfer back to New Zealand to stand trial.

During the trial, the accused pleaded insanity and requested leniency. Her lawyer argued that a life sentence would be disproportionate considering her alleged mental instability. However, prosecutors countered that there was no evidence of suicide intent or severe mental disorder at the time of the killings.

Judge Geoffrey Venning rejected the plea for a reduced sentence, stating that Lee was fully aware that her actions were morally wrong. He added that she may have struggled to cope with the children as reminders of her previously happier life.

The court ultimately sentenced Hakkyung Lee to life in prison, with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years — the harshest penalty available in New Zealand since the abolition of the death penalty in 1989.

The court also ordered that she first receive treatment at a psychiatric facility before being transferred back to prison once deemed mentally fit.