Suitcase murder case: Defence argues for woman’s name suppression to continue

A former Auckland resident who was extradited from South Korea after the bodies of her two children were discovered in suitcases was not in court today as her lawyer argued that her name should be kept secret until the end of her April 2024 murder trial.

Lorraine Smith told Justice Anne Hinton that she is seeking continued suppression for her client because publication could result in extreme hardship or endanger her safety. It could also impede her ability to engage in court proceedings or medical assessments, she asserted.

Crown prosecutor Gareth Kayes was neutral on the application.

The judge did not issue an immediate decision.

The 42-year-old first appeared in a New Zealand courtroom on two counts of murder on November 30, one day after she was escorted by police on a flight from South Korea. She has been remanded in custody since then.

The bodies of the two children, whose names are also suppressed, were discovered in August after an Auckland family purchased the suitcases as part of an auction for an abandoned storage unit.

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.

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.

The woman accused of murdering her two children appears in Manukau District Court today. Photo / Dean Purcell

Her lawyers entered not-guilty pleas on her behalf in December.

Lawyer Tania Goatley, representing the Herald and other media organisations, told the court today 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.

Justice Hinton indicated she would issue a written decision tomorrow.