2021 murder of three children in New Zealand
On 16 September 2021, Lauren Anne Dickason, a South African immigrant, murdered her three daughters, 6-year-old Liané, and 2-year-old twins Maya and Karla at her home in Timaru, New Zealand. After admitting to killing her children, she went on trial, denying that it was murder, but instead pleaded insanity or infanticide. She was found guilty of murdering her three children on 16 August 2023, and was sentenced on 26 June 2024 to 18 years in prison.
Lauren Dickason.
Early life and career.
Lauren Dickason is the daughter of Malcolm and Wendy Fawkes. Dickason attended a boarding school in Pretoria, South Africa. From the age of 15, Dickason experienced depression and anxiety. She also had post-natal depression. She later studied medicine at the University of Cape Town, completing her degree in 2004 and becoming a doctor. Dickason subsequently completed her rural health practice in Pretoria, where she met her husband Graham Dickason, an orthopaedic surgeon, in 2005. The couple married in 2006.
Children and mental health issues.
Lauren Dickason experienced multiple fertility struggles. To have children, she had 17 rounds of IVF, and needed donor eggs. In 2013, she had her first child, named Sarah, who had to be born after 18 weeks of pregnancy. She died shortly after. Dickason did not return to work following Sarah's death and became a part-time surgeon assistant to Graham.
Dickason had three further children: Liané (who was six years old at the time of her death) and twins Maya and Karla (who were two years old at the time of their deaths). Liané was born in September 2014 while Karla and Maya were born in November 2018. Following the birth of the twins, the Dickasons enlisted the services of a nanny named Maria Mendy Sibanyoni, who worked for the family between November 2018 and May 2020.
Dickason was diagnosed with a "major depression order with underlying anxiety" in 2015, that was linked to postpartum depression caused by the loss of Sarah. Dickason reportedly experienced flashbacks of the loss of her child, sleep difficulties, crying, suicidal thoughts, panic attacks, restlessness, detached feelings, and intrusive thoughts. Dickason experienced anxiety and depression leading up to and following the birth of her twin daughters, which was caused by Karla's cleft palate.
In May 2019, Dickason saw a psychiatrist after experiencing homicidal thoughts towards her children. This episode had been triggered after she and her nanny struggled with putting her twins to bed. Dickason has spoken about Karla being a difficult child, saying that Karla lashed out often, slapped and bit her. Dickason said that her children were "never enough".
Emigration to New Zealand.
In 2019 the Dickason family decided to emigrate to New Zealand. They had planned to move in August 2020, but their migration plans were delayed by the global COVID-19 pandemic and immigration issues. Though Dickason experienced episodes of depression and suicidal thoughts during the pandemic, her mood improved between late 2020 and June 2021. The Crown claimed she experienced a remission for at least two months. Dickason also participated in a wellness programme.
Without consulting her doctor, Dickason had stopped taking her antidepressant medication in March 2021 but subsequently resumed her medication regime in August 2021. In July 2021, Dickason's mental health deteriorated during the 2021 South African unrest triggered by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma. Dickason feared for the safety of her children and kept them at home. During that period, Dickason experienced thoughts about harming and killing her children. Dickason confided in her husband Graham, who reacted with anger and convinced her to resume her antidepressant medication. Dickason continued to experience homicidal thoughts following a foot surgery but did not disclose them since she feared it would affect their immigration plans. That same month, Graham's essential skills work visa was approved by Immigration New Zealand.
In July 2021, one of Dickason's friends also sent her a TikTok video where a mother recites a poem named "Mom needs a minute", about the struggles of raising her children and the "chaos inside of her brain". Dickason responded by saying "Awesome xxx, that's exactly how I feel". Over the following months, Dickason searched the Internet for different methods on how to overdose her children. In August 2021, Dickason experienced thoughts about using cable ties to asphyxiate her children after witnessing her husband and the girls playing with cable ties in the family garage. The incident occurred two weeks before the family emigrated fo New Zealand. Dickason became withdrawn and communicated less, and cried frequently. During testimony, her mother Wendy recalled that Dickason's mental health had deteriorated during that period and she had experienced significant weight loss.
Following two weeks in managed isolation, the Dickason family arrived in Timaru on 11 September 2021, five days before the children died. Dickason was unhappy during her time in Timaru, taking issue with the appearance of the town's residents and describing local rental accommodation as "small, disgusting and creepy." She feared that her children would be the target of cyberbullying when they became older and likened the treatment of indigenous Māori people to Apartheid in South Africa. These issues led her to regret emigrating to New Zealand. According to defence experts, Dickason became fixated on these issues to the point that they became delusions reinforced by her depression.
Deaths.
The children died on the night of 16 September 2021. On the day of the killings, 
Karla and Maya had attended their first day at preschool while Liané had attended her second day at Timaru Christian School. After picking up her daughters on the day of the killing, Karla threw a tantrum in the car. Later, the family visited the local botanical gardens. During that trip, Dickason alleged that a group of girls had warned her that a boy in the park was photographing her children, which led her to believe that New Zealand was as dangerous as South Africa. That same day, Dickason had thoughts of "brutally killing" the children by means of sedating them and cutting their femoral arteries.
That night, Graham Dickason went out with colleagues, leaving Lauren alone with her children. During a subsequent police interview, Lauren Dickason told detectives that the children [on that night] "were being wild again, jumping on the couches, not listening to what I'm trying to tell them..." She also told police that "something just triggered me" on the night of the children's killing. According to "Newshub", Dickason had told investigators that she had been triggered by an Immigration NZ request for more medical information about Kayla's cleft palate and her own mental health, as well as her feeling that she did not have the strength to make the children's school lunches.
After gathering the children in a bedroom, she told them they were going to make necklaces with cable ties and tricked them into wearing the ties around their necks. Dickason said she told her children "Mummy's very sick and is going to die. I can't leave you behind because I don't know who’s going to look after you." Dickason then asphyxiated the children, starting with Kayla and then Liané and Maya. Dickason told police officers that Kayla had been "really horrible" to her recently and that Liané had fought back. She recalled that "the oldest one was very angry and she wants to know why I'm doing this to them because I'm the best mum and she loves me."
Since the children were still breathing, Dickason then smothered them with a towel and their blankets. Afterwards, she tried to commit suicide with a knife and by pills. The bodies were discovered in their beds by Graham after coming back home from the work event. Graham also confronted a distraught Dickason, who told him it was "too late" before falling into a catatonic state.
Police investigation and legal proceedings.
At 10 pm on 16 September 2021, Police in Timaru responded to a call by neighbours Karen and Brad Cowper, who responded to a distraught Graham. At the house, Police found the three dead children and Lauren Dickason, who was hospitalised in stable condition. Police were also joined by Graham's work colleague Mark Cvitanich and his wife Cathy, who had responded to Graham's phone call. Cvitanich had also called the Police and emergency services. Dickason was taken to Timaru Hospital.
On 17 September, Police interviewed Dickason, who admitted to killing her three children. Later that day, Detective Inspector Scott Anderson confirmed that Police had arrested a 40-year-old woman about the deaths of the three dead children. Anderson said the children's deaths were an isolated incident and that Police were not seeking anyone else.
On 18 September, Dickason appeared in the Timaru District Court and was later remanded to a forensic psychiatric ward at Christchurch's Hillmorton Hospital. She was later placed in a hospital psychiatric unit. At Hillmorton Hospital, she was interviewed by five forensic psychiatrists and psychologists for 53 hours. Three of them, Susan Hatters-Friedman, Justin Barry-Walsh and Ghazi Metoui, believed she was severely mentally unwell and could claim a defence based on insanity or infanticide. The two others, Erik Monasterio and Simone McLeavey believed that Dickason killed her children out of anger and control, including not wanting to let another woman parent her children if she either died and Graham remarried.
On 5 October 2021, Dickason's lawyer Kerryn Beaton QC sought an extended remand for her client at Hillmorton hospital. Dickason had been scheduled to appear at the Timaru High Court that day but her appearance had been delayed due to an impending mental health assessment. On 15 October, Beaton told a court hearing in Christchurch that Dickason would plead not guilty to three charges of murder. Dickason was unable to attend the court hearing since she was ill. Beaton sought further remand for Dickason to Hillmorton hospital until her next appearance, which was not opposed by Crown prosecutor Andrew McRae. A trial date for March 2023 was set in Timaru.
Trial.
On 5 August 2022 the trial was scheduled to be held on 17 July 2023.
First week.
The trial of Lauren Dickason commenced on 17 July 2023 at the Christchurch High Court. Judge Cameron Mander presided over the trial while Andrew McRae served as Crown prosecutor. McRae delivered his opening address and detailed the circumstances of the children's deaths and Dickason's attempted suicide. The defence also outlined their case.
Several members of both Lauren and Graham Dickason's families also travelled from South Africa to attend the trial. It was originally scheduled to be three weeks, but was rescheduled to be four weeks. While the Crown has argued that Dickason murdered her children because she resented the impact they had on her marriage, Dickason has not pleaded guilty to murder due to insanity or infanticide. She told doctors that she was not "hearing" commands to kill her children, and that the decisions were made on her own.
On 18 July, Graham Dickason testified via audio-visual link from South Africa. During testimony, Graham testified that he had found three sets of cable ties inside a wardrobe after returning to the Dickason family home in South Africa following the alleged murders in September 2021. The Crown also played Graham's police interview where he claimed that Lauren was not a nurturing mother and the children particularly the twins preferred being around him. Graham also testified that Lauren suffered from stress and depression while living in South Africa due to her fertility troubles and safety issues.
On 19 July, Graham gave a full day of testimony and was cross-examined by the defence. He also testified that his wife had confided her thoughts about killing their children on at least three occasions.
On 20 July, the Christchurch High Court heard testimony from several witnesses including Mark and Cathy Cvitanich and emergency first responders, who were present at the Dickason household on the night of the children's deaths on 26 September 2021. In addition, several colleagues of Graham and their wives, along with several school mothers that Dickason had befriended after immigrating to Timaru, also testified in Court.
On 21 July, the Court heard testimony from several teachers who had helped the Dickason children settle into Timaru including Timaru Christian School deputy principal and teacher Grant Phillips, Wendy Hamilton, and Bronwyn Davies. When cross-examined by defence lawyer Anne Toohey, Phillips testified that Dickason began to "well up" when talking about her experience with COVID-19 managed isolation. Davies also testified that Dickason had confided that she was struggling