Home > National > Social Affairs

Korean woman stands trial in New Zealand for the murder of her two children

Published: 09 Sep. 2025, 18:37

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

A 44-year-old woman surnamed Lee, who is accused of murdering her two young children and storing their bodies in a suitcase in 2018, stands in the dock of the Auckland High Court in Auckland on Sept. 8. [AP/YONHAP]

The trial of a Korean woman accused of killing her two young children in New Zealand and storing the bodies in a suitcase before fleeing to Korea began on Monday.

The Auckland High Court on New Zealand’s North Island opened its first hearing with the defendant, a 44-year-old woman surnamed Lee, present, according to AFP. Lee is accused of murdering her 9-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son around June to July of 2018 before escaping to Korea.

Asked in court whether she admitted the murders, Lee shook her head and stayed silent. Presiding Judge Geoffrey Venning treated that as a not guilty plea and said the trial would proceed.

Venning also noted that it was likely the defense would request consideration of Lee's mental health at the time of the alleged crimes. Local media reported that Lee is representing herself, though two standby lawyers are available should she require legal assistance.

The exact cause of death of the two children has not yet been confirmed. Court records show that prescription sleeping pills prescribed to Lee were detected in the children’s bodies but other possible causes of death have not been entirely ruled out.

Lee allegedly killed her children in 2018, a year after their father died of cancer in 2017, and then placed their bodies in suitcases stored in a warehouse in Auckland.

After completing the act, prosecutors say she returned to Korea in the second half of 2018. In 2022, facing financial difficulties, she stopped paying the warehouse's rent. As a result, the warehouse's contents were put up for online auction, which led to the discovery of the bodies. In August 2022, the resident who had purchased the storage unit found the children’s remains inside the suitcases and reported them to police. New Zealand authorities then identified Lee, the children’s mother, as the prime suspect.

Lee was arrested in Ulsan in September 2022, extradited to New Zealand and taken into custody.

Her trial is expected to last up to four weeks. Lee was born in Korea and later immigrated to New Zealand, where she obtained citizenship.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]