Korean Mother in 'New Zealand Suitcase Bodies Case' Claims Diminished Mental Capacity in Court

"Miscalculated Antidepressant Dosage... Gave It to Her Children"

A Korean mother, who was indicted for killing her own children-a brother and sister-seven years ago in New Zealand and abandoning their bodies in a suitcase stored in a warehouse, claimed innocence in court, arguing that she was in a state of diminished mental capacity at the time of the crime.

According to international media outlets such as AFP and the BBC on September 13 (local time), Lee, a 44-year-old woman charged with murder and other offenses, pleaded not guilty at a recent first trial held at a court in Auckland. While she admitted to giving her young children antidepressants at the time of the incident in 2018, she stated, "I am not guilty of murder because I was mentally impaired due to a psychological disorder."

Defendants in the Case of Siblings' Bodies Found in Bag in New Zealand. Yonhap News Agency

Lee's defense attorney argued that she gave her children antidepressants after miscalculating the dosage, and that when she woke up, the children were already dead. The attorney added that three months before her husband died of cancer in 2017, Lee suffered from insomnia and dizziness and was prescribed antidepressants.

Forensic expert Simon Staples, who testified in court, stated that the children's bodies were so badly decomposed when discovered that it was difficult to conclude that antidepressants were the direct cause of death. He explained, "It is possible to argue that the medication caused the deaths, or that it acted in combination with other factors," and added, "There is a possibility that the antidepressants subdued the children."

Lee is accused of killing her nine-year-old daughter and six-year-old son in New Zealand around June to July 2018. At the time, she put their bodies in a suitcase and abandoned it in a warehouse in Auckland before fleeing to South Korea. In 2022, Lee was facing financial difficulties in South Korea and was unable to pay the storage fees for the Auckland warehouse. As a result, the items stored there were put up for online auction. In August of the same year, a New Zealander who won the auction discovered the children's bodies in the suitcase and reported it to the police. Lee, identified as the prime suspect, was apprehended in Ulsan in September that year and extradited to New Zealand.

Lee, who was born in South Korea, immigrated to New Zealand and obtained local citizenship. The first trial, which recently began, is expected to continue for the next three weeks.