Suitcase murder case: Judge rules against name suppression for mum accused of killing children

A former Auckland resident accused of having murdered her two primary school-aged children — their bodies found years later following a storage unit sale — no longer qualifies to keep her name secret, a judge has decided.

But the defendant still cannot be named, with her lawyer indicating she plans to challenge the decision before the Court of Appeal.

The 42-year-old was extradited to New Zealand from South Korea in November, three months after the grisly discovery of her children’s remains inside suitcases. An Auckland family had purchased the items as part of an auction for an abandoned South Auckland storage unit but didn’t open them until they were brought back to their Manurewa home.

The mother, who has pleaded not guilty through her lawyers, is set for a jury trial in April 2024.

During a contested name suppression hearing last month, defence lawyer Lorraine Smith told Justice Anne Hinton she was seeking continued suppression for her client because publication could result in extreme hardship or endanger the woman’s safety. It could also impede the defendant’s ability to engage in court proceedings or medical assessments, she asserted.

Crown prosecutor Gareth Kayes was neutral on the application while lawyer Tania Goatley, representing the Herald and other media organisations, argued against suppression.

Goatley told the judge that the woman’s name is already known among Auckland’s Korean community and was published overseas prior to her extradition. The starting point for criminal cases in New Zealand is open justice, and the onus is on the applicant to show extreme hardship, Goatley said, arguing that the burden hadn’t been met.

In her nine-page judgment released this afternoon, Justice Hinton noted that there must be a “real and appreciable” risk to the woman’s safety for continued name suppression to be considered.

“While it sounds harsh, that is the relevant test,” she wrote. “I have not been provided with evidence showing that [the defendant] would likely be severely affected by the publication of her name or that her safety would be endangered.”

Much of what was said during the name suppression hearing cannot be reported due to ongoing restrictions.

Police have said the children, who would have been between the ages of 5 and 10 at the time of death, had been deceased for years when their remains were discovered.

The defendant was born in Korea but obtained New Zealand citizenship after moving here. Immigration records suggest she returned to Korea in 2018. South Korean authorities arrested her in September, holding her in custody until her extradition.