A New Zealand jury found a woman guilty on Tuesday of killing her two children and leaving their bodies in suitcases for years before they were discovered, the Associated Press reported.
The verdict means the Auckland High Court jury is rejecting arguments from the defense of defendant Hakyun Lee, who fled to South Korea after the killings before being extradited to stand trial. The verdict came hours after the jury was sent to deliberate early this morning.
Lee was charged with the June 2018 murders of her two children, Minwoo Jo, 6, and Yuna Jo, 8. The children died after Lee gave them fruit juice laced with an unspecified amount of the antidepressant "Nortriptyline". The children's remains were found in an abandoned warehouse in Auckland in August 2022.
Lee, a New Zealand citizen, traveled to South Korea and changed her name in 2018, shortly after she is alleged to have killed her children. She was born in South Korea and previously went by the name Ji Eun-lee.
Lee was extradited from South Korea in November 2022. She denies the charges, and her lawyers say she was insane at the time of the murders. The children were killed seven months after her husband died of cancer. The children's remains were discovered after Li stopped paying rent on the Auckland warehouse after falling into financial difficulties in 2022. The contents of the warehouse were sold at an online auction and buyers discovered the bodies.
Judge Geoffrey Venning ordered Li to remain in custody until his sentence came into effect on November 26. Murder in New Zealand carries a life sentence, with judges required to impose a sentence of at least 10 years in prison before a convicted person is eligible for parole.
Venning said at the start of the trial on September 8 that it would be stressful for Li and gave her permission to watch the proceedings from another room in the courtroom. She was returned to the courtroom yesterday for the jury's verdict.