A New Zealand mother, Hakyung Lee, has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her two children, whose bodies were discovered in suitcases years after the crime. The tragic incident occurred in 2018, shortly after Lee’s husband, Ian Jo, succumbed to cancer. Lee, 45, was found guilty in September of killing her eight-year-old daughter, Yuna Jo, and six-year-old son, Minu Jo. She must serve a minimum of 17 years before being eligible for parole. During the trial, Lee’s defense argued that she was insane at the time of the murders, citing her deteriorating mental health following her husband’s death. However, High Court Judge Geoffrey Venning noted that her actions were calculated, despite her mental health issues. The children’s remains were discovered in 2022 by a couple who purchased the contents of an abandoned storage unit in Auckland. Lee had attempted to kill herself and her children by administering a lethal dose of the antidepressant nortriptyline mixed in juice but miscalculated the dosage, leading to the children’s deaths. Prosecutors described the act as a selfish attempt to escape the burdens of single parenthood. After the murders, Lee changed her name and fled New Zealand, only to be arrested in South Korea in September 2022 and extradited back to New Zealand. The court heard emotional statements from both families, with Lee’s mother expressing regret for not seeking counseling for her daughter, who had lost the will to live after her husband’s death. Ian Jo’s brother, Jimmy, described the tragedy as an ongoing sentence from which he can never be paroled. A psychiatric assessment revealed that Lee was likely suffering from atypical depression and prolonged grief at the time of the murders. Justice Venning ordered that Lee be treated as a ‘special patient’ during her imprisonment due to her mental state.