A New Zealand court sentenced a woman to life in prison for the premeditated murder of her two young children, whose bodies were concealed in suitcases for four years following her husband’s death.
Ha-kyoung Lee, 45, received the sentence from the High Court in Auckland. She must serve a minimum of 17 years before being eligible for parole.
Lee was found guilty in September of killing her 8-year-old daughter, You-na Cho, and 6-year-old son, Mi-nu Cho. The murders occurred in 2018.
The children’s remains were discovered in 2022. A couple found them in suitcases after purchasing the contents of an abandoned storage unit.
Judge Geoffrey Venning acknowledged Lee’s mental health struggles. However, he concluded her actions were premeditated.
The judge stated Lee was “unable to cope” after her husband’s illness and death. He suggested she “couldn’t bear to have your children around” as reminders of a lost happy life.
Lee’s defense argued she suffered severe mental deterioration after her husband Ian Cho died of cancer in November 2017. Her lawyers claimed she believed the only solution was for her entire family to die together.
They contended Lee attempted a murder-suicide. She gave her children antidepressants mixed with juice but miscalculated the dose, waking to find them dead.
Prosecutors countered this, describing Lee’s actions as a “selfish act.” They argued she sought to free herself from the burden of raising her children alone.
A pre-trial psychiatric assessment indicated Lee likely suffered from “atypical depression” and prolonged grief disorder at the time. The court ordered she be treated as a “special patient” in prison due to her mental state.
After the murders, Lee changed her name and left New Zealand. She was arrested in her native South Korea in September 2022 and extradited back to New Zealand later that year.
During the recent sentencing hearing, the court heard emotional victim impact statements.
Lee’s mother, Chun-ja Lee, expressed profound regret for not seeking counseling for her daughter. She said her daughter “had no will to live” after her husband’s death.
“If she wanted to die, why didn’t she die alone?” Chun-ja Lee asked. “Why take innocent children with her?”
Jimmy Cho, the deceased husband’s brother, spoke of the family’s shock. He said he “never imagined such a profound tragedy could befall our family.”
He also revealed the children’s grandmother remains unaware of their deaths. “It was my late brother’s wish that I protect them,” he added. “This is an ongoing prison sentence from which I will never be pardoned.”