Mom Accused of Killing Her 2 Children and Storing Their Bodies in Suitcases

A woman accused of killing her two children in 2018 in New Zealand has reportedly pleaded not guilty.

On Monday, Sept. 8, Hakyung Lee, 44, appeared in court in Auckland after being accused of killing her children Minu Jo, 6, and Yuna Jo, 8, in 2018, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

This came after Lee’s husband died from cancer, per The South China Morning Post.

The bodies of Manu and Yuna were found in suitcases inside a storage locker in Auckland in 2022 after a family member bought the items in an online auction, RNZ reported.

The relative is not connected to the killings, according to The Sydney Morning Herald and the bodies are believed to have been located in the storage for years, per the BBC.

After the murders in 2018, Lee moved to South Korea and changed her name, per U.K. newspaper Independent.

Lee, who was born in South Korea with the birth name of Ji Eun Lee, was extradited to New Zealand in November 2022, per RNZ and Independent.

PEOPLE has contacted the New Zealand Police and the Auckland High Court for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

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Lee has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and is representing herself, according to the outlets.

During her court appearance, Lee lowered her head before shaking it when asked if she pleaded guilty or not guilty, per The Sydney Morning Herald.

“I’ll give you directions … on the law and you’ll have to apply those directions, but ultimately it’s for you to decide on the facts, in light of those directions, whether Ms Lee is guilty or not guilty of the charges she faces,” Justice Geoffrey Venning told jurors, per RNZ.

“In this case it’s likely you’ll also need to determine whether, at the time the children were killed, Ms Lee was insane, as that is defined in our Crimes Act,” he continued.

Court documents report that the murder was related to Lee’s sleeping medication, which she was prescribed when her husband’s health declined, RNZ reported.

Before her husband’s death in 2017, Lee reportedly threatened to kill herself and her children if her husband died.

The exact method of the murder is currently unknown. “After murdering the deceased, the defendant wrapped each of their bodies in plastic bags and plastic wrap,” official documents read, per the outlet.

“The defendant placed each body into a separate suitcase and put them into black plastic bags to conceal them,” the official statement continued.

The deaths are believed to have occurred between June 23 and July 27, 2018, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. Lee previously rented a storage unit in Papatoetoe, where she allegedly stored the suitcases with other household items, per RNZ.

The storage was then reportedly auctioned off after Lee struggled to continue payments.

The trial is expected to last up to four weeks. Lee has also been allowed to watch proceedings from another room in court, per The Sydney Morning Herald.