A mother who killed her 2 children and left them in suits has been sentenced to a New Zealand prison

A woman in New Zealand who was found guilty Killing his two children and leave them bodies in suits Years before they are found guilty they will serve at least 17 years in prison, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Justice Geoffrey Famous Hakyung Lee In the high court hearing in the city of Auckland he was to start his sentence as a patient in a locked psychiatric ward, under New Zealand’s compulsory mental health law. Lee must return to prison when enough is enough, the judge said.

“You couldn’t stand it there [your husband] “You know seriously, and maybe you couldn’t have children around you as a reminder of your happy life, which was brutally taken away,” the judge said, according to BBC news.

A jury in September found Lee guilty of the murders of Mr Jo, 6, and Juna Jo, 8, refusing to plead insanity. His lawyers on Wednesday argued against a reduced sentence because of his mental illness, saying their client felt shame for his crimes and was threatened with prison.

However, the judge told Lee that there was no doubt that he was suffering from severe depression he killed the children In 2018, his actions were deliberate and calculated, there were news reports. In New Zealand, a successful insanity defense requires the accused of murder to be able to understand what they are doing or what is wrong.

The bodies of the children were found after they stopped paying rent in Auckland Storage unit When he ran into financial difficulties in 2022. The contents of the Locker were leaked online and consumers found dead bodies inside.

Lee fled to South Korea After this murder, where he changed his name, before he refused to face the crime. She is a New Zealand citizen who was born in South Korea and went by the name Ji Eun Lee before.

During the trial, Lee’s attorneys admitted that Lee killed the children by giving them antibiotics, but attorney Lorraine Smith said the deaths occurred after her client “became abusive,” local media reported. “Lee had always been strong,” Smith said, but her mental illness worsened after her husband’s death.

“If he wanted to die, why did he die alone? Why did he take innocent children with him?” Lee’s mother wrote in a statement, BBC news reported, New Zealand media reported.

During the trial, a palliative care provider said in a lecture read by the court that Lee said he “wanted to lose everything” and was often told it was his end, Australian broadcaster ABC reported.

Those convicted of murder in New Zealand receive an automatic life sentence, with judges imposing a minimum term of at least 10 years before a defendant can apply for parole. Lee must serve at least 17 years, to serve justice.

The children’s uncle, Jimmy Sei Wouth Jo, was in court, where the lawyer read the statement.

“I never thought that such a great tragedy would befall our family,” said the statement, according to local news. “I feel like I failed to take care of my niece and nephew.”

The prosecutor read a statement from Lee’s mother, Chon Ja Lee, who spoke about her learning disabilities experienced by the children.

“It felt like a winter pain in my bones, or like someone was pushing my chest,” he said in a statement, according to local news reports. “I don’t know what this pain and suffering can heal, but I often think that I can carry it with me until the day I die.”

After Wednesday’s hearing, New Zealand police thanked authorities in South Korea for their help with the investigation.

“YUNA and Mr. would have been 16 and 13 today,” he said. Inspector Tofilau Faamanua Va’aelua said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the wider family today for the tragic loss of these two children.”