Shocked by the international "New Zealand baggage box child's body case", the 45-year-old Korean woman involved in the case, Hakyung Lee, was tried in the Auckland High Court,After three weeks of hearing, the jury ruled on Tuesday that the murder of his two children was founded, facing the highest life imprisonment sentence, with no suspension for at least 10 years.。
The jury reached a unanimous verdict of guilt after only two hours of consultation. During the hearing, Li Shakin's lawyer team argued that the defendant suffered from severe depression due to his husband's death in 2017 and should be convicted of mental confusion.
New Zealand police are investigating the location of a suitcase.
Li Xiajing, a Korean woman of New Zealand nationality, was suspected of killing her two children between June and July 2018, hiding the bodies wrapped in plastic bags and plastic wrap in two suitcases, storing them in lockers rented by a warehousing company, and then absconding back to South Korea. Because she didn't renew her lease on time, the warehousing company legally cleaned up the items and put them at public auction in 2022. A couple bid for the box, and after opening it, they found the bodies of two children. They immediately reported the case to the police, and the case was exposed.
After investigation, the New Zealand police believed that,Cho Yunna, 8, and Cho Min-e, 6, were found dead three or four years ago。 Li Xiajing was subsequently arrested in South Korea and extradited to New Zealand.
On September 8, 2025, the case was officially heard. Li Xiajing always sat between the translator and the security guard, keeping his head down all the time, letting his hair cover his face, and never taking the initiative to ask questions or speak.
The court revealed the surprising details of the case.
on August 10, 2022,Two public buyers invested 401 New Zealand dollars ($1,670) in the abandoned warehouse items, including bicycles, clothes, and two suitcases.When carrying the suitcase into the trailer, the buyer foundAn unusual, dead rat-like smell。 After he returned home, he cut open the plastic-wrapped and locked suitcase with a knife. In layers after layers of knotted black plastic bags, the bodies of two children were finally found. The autopsy pointed out that there were no signs of abuse on the bodies, although the two children were indeed killed by him.
Prosecutors quoted pathologists' findings that the two people died of unknown causes, possibly taking the antidepressant nortriptyline.
Li had been prescribed by a doctor in August 2017, just five months after her husband was diagnosed with cancer. Until her husband died in November 2017, Li had repeatedly told people including her mother and her husband himself that if her husband died, she and her children would follow. After her husband died, Li had told friends that she hoped that an airplane crash would kill her and her children. At the same time, she also said that she would rather die as a child than a husband, which would not make her so sad.
The defense lawyer said that Li had thought that taking antidepressants and dying together with the whole family was the best option, but only after waking up after taking the wrong dose, found that two children had died. However, the prosecutor believed that Li knew what she was doing, and used her attempt to hide the body and escape New Zealand as evidence, and she changed her name before returning to Korea, and broke the relationship with New Zealand.
In the end, the jury did not adopt the defense's statement. According to New Zealand law, Li Xiajing will now face up to life imprisonment and at least 10 years without parole. The judge is scheduled to pronounce the sentence in November. Judge: "It is natural to feel sympathy for young children who have been killed, and it is natural to think that someone should be responsible for their death."