Mental health as a central factorAfter finding the child’s body in a suitcase, the mother received the maximum sentence
The mother has admitted to killing her two children (8 and 6). (archive photo)
AP
The horrific act shocked the world.
The bodies of two children were found in suitcases at auction in New Zealand. Now the decision for the mother is clear. The court sentenced the now 45-year-old man to a minimum prison term of 17 years, with no possibility of early release. Your mental health plays an important role in sentencing. Jurors had found the woman guilty in September of killing her two children, aged six and eight.
Horrible find in the warehouse
In 2022, a husband and wife bought two suitcases at a clearance auction in Auckland, New Zealand – and found the remains of a girl and her younger brother inside. This shocking case made headlines around the world. At this time, the children had been dead for about four years. The suitcases had been kept in storage the entire time.
The mother, who is from South Korea, admitted in court that she killed her children aged eight and six. After her husband’s death, she drugged her children and hid the bodies in a suitcase. He then flew to his hometown. Several weeks after the discovery, authorities arrested him in South Korea and then extradited him to New Zealand.
Reading tips: Trial of two children killed in a suitcase in New Zealand: mother admits to murder
In video: After a call for help to RTL! Child testifies in case of alleged abuse
Mental health as a central factor
The judge in charge at the High Court in Auckland ordered a further psychiatric report following the guilty verdict in September. When reading the verdict, Judge Geoffrey Venning explained that the defendant’s mental health was a key factor in this case. That’s why he had to start his sentence as a “special patient” in a psychiatric facility.
Venning stressed that she killed her children because she could no longer bear the “responsibility and burden of care” after her husband died of cancer in 2017. She described the case as “tragic”. The woman could not bear the constant reminder of her former happy life, which had been cruelly taken from her. “However, in reaching the verdict, the jury found that you intended to kill your children and although you were suffering from a depressive illness at the time, you knew that your actions were morally wrong,” the judge added. (abl/dpa)
Source used: dpa
