Overview

• Hakyung Lee, 44, is on trial in the Auckland High Court accused of murdering her children, Yuna, 8, and Minu, 6, in 2018.
• A jury has been empaneled for a four-week proceeding, with prosecutors planning to call about 40 witnesses.
• Lee is representing herself with two standby lawyers; she did not speak at the opening hearing and a not-guilty plea was entered by the judge.
• Forensic evidence found traces of nortriptyline in the children’s remains, though the pathologist said the precise cause of death is undetermined and multiple scenarios cannot be excluded.
• Prosecutors say the bodies were wrapped and placed in separate suitcases stored in Auckland, discovered by auction buyers in 2022; Lee was later arrested in South Korea and extradited after an Interpol notice, with officials there providing evidence to New Zealand.