Mother charged in New Zealand ‘suitcase murders’ of two children pleads not guilty

A woman charged with the murder of two children whose bodies were found in suitcases in New Zealand has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The 42-year-old woman accused of their murder is the children’s mother, and was extradited from South Korea on murder charges in late November.

The bodies of the two young children, who were aged around five to 10 years, were hidden in suitcases for a number of years before an Auckland family bought the luggage in a storage facility’s online auction. They took the suitcases home in early August, before making the discovery and contacting police.

The case was heard at Auckland high court on Wednesday morning, but the accused was not present for the hearing, and her lawyer entered not guilty pleas on her behalf. She and the children are both covered by strict interim suppression orders preventing the publication of their names and some identifying details, as well as some details of the case.

The case was adjourned to a case review hearing on 8 March at 9am. The woman will remain in custody until a four-week trial currently scheduled for April 2024.

In mid-September, South Korean authorities arrested the woman in the southern city of Ulsan on a warrant for two charges of murder. Her only public statements so far came as she was shifted between police stations in South Korea in mid-September.

In response to every question as she was transferred by police from the city of Ulsan to Seoul, the woman gave the same answer: “I didn’t do it.”

South Korea’s justice ministry handed the woman over to New Zealand authorities at the end of November, and said it had also provided New Zealand with unspecified “important evidence” on the case.

South Korean police have said the woman was born in South Korea and later moved to New Zealand, where she gained citizenship.