Child murders in New Zealand
In August 2022 the bodies of two children, Yuna and Minu Jo, were found in suitcases in Auckland, New Zealand. The suitcases were bought from the sale of a storage unit where the bodies are suspected to have been stored for multiple years. In September 2022, Hakyung Lee, the mother of the children, was arrested in South Korea. She was extradited to New Zealand, and has been charged with the children's murder. Her trial is scheduled for September 2025.
Victims.
The children were a girl and a boy born in 2009 and 2012. New Zealand police have said the children may have been dead for up to four years.
In late September 2023, interim name suppression of the children was lifted by Coroner Tania Tetitaha. Their names were Minu Jo, who was born in March 2012, and Yuna Jo, who was born in September 2009. At the time of their deaths, the children were aged about six and eight years respectively.
Discovery and investigation.
On 11 August 2022, human remains were found in two suitcases in Moncrieff Ave, Clendon Park. The suitcases were bought by a family as part of a storage unit auction from Safe Store Papatoetoe. The family brought the suitcases home along with other household objects. Police believe the family who bought the suitcases were not connected to the children's deaths.
The victims were the children of Korean-born parents. The children's father died of cancer in New Zealand in late 2017, before the children's disappearance. The children's mother, a Korean-born New Zealander, returned to South Korea in 2018 and had not left that country since.
Arrest and extradition.
In September 2022 the arrest of the children's mother in Ulsan, South Korea was announced. New Zealand authorities commenced extradition proceedings through the South Korean court system. The woman was arrested by Korean police on suspicion of "crimes against humanity", and will face two murder charges in New Zealand.
In November 2022, the South Korean Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon approved the suspect's extradition. Earlier, the Seoul High Court had approved the woman's extradition after she had granted written consent. On 29 November, the children's mother was extradited by South Korean authorities, who also submitted "significant pieces of evidence" to their New Zealand counterparts.
Pre-trial procedures.
On 30 November 2022, the suspect appeared at the Manukau District Court in South Auckland where she entered no plea. She was remanded into custody and the identities of the suspect, her children, and an unidentified relative were suppressed. On 14 December, she pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody. On 3 May 2023, during an administrative hearing she said "I'm going to prove my innocence". On 8 May, her lawyers argued for continued name suppression in the Court of Appeals.
On 19 July 2023, the suspect was identified as Hakyung Lee, the mother of the two children. The New Zealand Court of Appeal lifted name suppression, rejecting her lawyer Chris Wilkinson-Smith's argument that publishing her identity would result in extreme hardship, endanger her safety, and prejudice her ability to engage in court proceedings or medical assessments. Lee has denied murdering her children and has pleaded not guilty.
On 25 September 2023, Coroner Tania Teitaha lifted interim name suppression for the deceased children. In response to the lifting of name suppression, two New Zealand-based relatives applied to have their names and identifying details suppressed.
Trial.
Lee's trial was scheduled to start on 29 April 2024, but for undisclosed legal reasons has been postponed to 8 September 2025.
References.
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