Murders of the Dickason children

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 inside despite appearing calm. Detective Edward Mitchell also submitted hundreds of text messages from Dickason's phone to friends and her husband between 2016 and 16 September 2021. Several of the text messages discussed the defendant's relationship problems, and her struggles with depression, anxiety, self harm, and raising twins.

Second week

On 24 July, Police digital forensic analyst Joshua Locke testified that Dickason had made eight deleted Google internet searches regarding overdosing children. The Police also found several searches for fatal levels or doses of various drugs and substances. In addition, the defence submitted their own cache of text messages which they argued portrayed the defendant in a different light.

On 25 July, the Crown played a video recording on Dickason's interview with Police on 17 September 2021, the day after the alleged murders of her children. During the interview, Dickason had admitted to killing her three children. Dickason's defence lawyers questioned the appropriateness of the timing of her Police interview. The Crown countered that Dickason had been "medically cleared" for the interview.

On 26 July, the Crown rested its case. Dickason's defence lawyer Anne Toohey delivered her opening address to the jury, arguing that the defendant's decision to kill her children was "spontaneous" because Dickason believed that her and the children's lives were not worth living and "that they were all better off dead." The defence also testified that Dickason was mentally unwell due to postpartum depression. Her mother Wendy Fawkes testified that Dickason loved her children, describing her as "overprotective, even neurotic...and very safety focussed. [sic]" Fawkes also told the Court that she had reservations about Dickason and her family migrating to New Zealand, and that contact with her daughter had declined in the weeks leading up to the children's deaths. Another relative testified that Dickason had never recovered from the death of her first child Sarah.

On 27 July, Toohey introduced the defence's first expert witness Dr Susan Hatters-Friedman, a forensic and reproductive psychiatrist. Hatters-Friedman had spent four days interviewing Dickason and testified that the defendant frequently had "thoughts and images" about killing her children. Hatters-Friedman testified that Dickason on the night of the children's murder had told them that she was ill and going to die, and that she killed her children because she believed that nobody was going to look after them. She also reiterated the defence's case that the defendant was suffering from post-partum depression when she killed her children.

On 28 July, Hatters-Friedman testified that Dickason killed her children out of love, and based on her inability to parent. She also stated that the Dickason didn't want the children to grow up in an instance where something bad happened to her or her husband, such as being hit by a car. She said that her children would be better off in heaven because she was the "worst wife and mother". During cross-examination, McRae expressed disagreement with Hatters-Friedman's argument, stating that there is evidence saying that the killings were not "out of love".

Third week

On 31 July, the forensic psychiatrist and Canterbury District Health Board clinical director Dr Erik Monasterio, who had been summoned by the Crown as an expert witness, testified that Dickason had trouble bonding with her three children. Monasterio had interviewed Dickason four times between October 2021 and April 2022. While Monasterio had maintained a positive relationship with Dickason during the first three interviews in October 2021, Dickason requested that he revise certain aspects of her previous accounts during their fourth interview in April 2022. Monasterio testified that Dickason had told him that she made sacrifices to ensure that Graham could go hunting and work, which increased her frustrations with her children. On 1 August, Monasterio claimed that Dickason had killed her children out of anger rather than insanity or postpartum depression, citing evidence from her fourth interview in April 2022.

On 2 August the defence accused Dr Monasterio of being biased due to his alleged dislike for Dickason. Monasterio had also described the defendant's text messages as " someone of privilege coming to a less privileged environment." They also said that Dickason was more concerned with ironing than the health of her children.

On 3 August, Dr Simone McLeavey, a consultant psychiatrist at Hillmorton Hospital and the first psychiatrist to interview Dickason following her children's deaths, testified that the defendant "had the capacity to engage meaningfully" and discussed her previous engagement with South African mental health specialists due to her history of depression, anxiety, and feelings of being a "bad parent." According to McLeavey, other contributing factors to the defendant's mental health troubles included the financial impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns, the emigration and travel process, and the ongoing unrest and rising crime in South Africa. McLeavey also told the Court that Dickason had told her she killed her children and attempted suicide in order to "end the suffering."

On 4 August, the trial was adjourned because a juror was sick.

Fourth week

On 7 August, during cross-examination, forensic psychiatrist Dr Simone McLeavey claimed that Dickason was not experiencing psychosis during the killings, saying that "it would be exceptional for psychosis not to be detected if in fact, it was present," and that Dickason was suffering from depression and grievances instead.

On 8 August, the Court heard testimony from forensic psychiatrist Dr Justin Barry-Walsh, who had interviewed the defendant on two occasions. Barry-Walsh testified that the defendant had likened the killing of her children to an "out of body experience" and initially thought that she was free of her troubles during her interview on 10 October 2021. He also told the court that the defendant had admitted struggling with the guilt of causing her children's deaths during her second interview in December 2021. Barry-Walsh conducted two follow-up interviews with Dickason in May 2023 where she said that she missed her children but sometimes felt "she has saved the children from the pain of the world."

On 9 August, the Court heard testimony from forensic psychologist Ghazi Metoui, who had interviewed Dickason on nine occasions, totalling 20 hours. Based on a report into her psychiartric history, Metoui argued that the deaths of her children were motivated by "insanity" and "infanticide" rather than murder. Metoui told the Court that the defendant had experienced her first violent ideation towards her children in May 2019 when her twin daughters were six months old.

On 10 August, the Crown suggested that her clinical psychologist at Hillmorton Hospital had put the idea of the altruistic motive—killing out of love—into her head. The Crown's argument was challenged by Metoui, who described Dickason as a "mother in deep despair who thought killing her daughters was the kindest thing to do."

On 11 August, McRae gave the closing address for the trial. The Crown said that Dickason knew that what she was doing was morally wrong (there was no altruistic motive), and that the key drivers of the killing was "anger and control". McRae said that "this is a trial by jury, not a trial by experts", stating that the defence experts who assessed Dickason did not do it during the time of the killing, whereas the Crown did. The Crown also said that defence experts ignored "crucial information". Dickason provided inconsistent accounts of what happened for explanations months apart. The Crown said that the post partum depression had remitted, and that it was at best a minimal contributor. A recovery was shown in her text messages, such as "For the first time in nine years I’m not using antidepressants…it was just a mindset shift", "I have been off antidepressants for three months already after ten years", and messages detailing that she was in a fitness programme, which the Crown said does not describe someone suffering from postpartum depression.

The Crown said that the evidence provided by the defence experts should be treated with "great caution" as Dickason reported killing Karla first on multiple occasions because she had been misbehaving, such as biting and scratching her. The defence, however, said that Karla was killed first because she was the closest to Dickason. When asked whether she thinks the killings were a result of her postpartum depression, she answered "no", and that the idea for killing "just popped up", although the Crown later said "We knew the thoughts didn’t just pop into her head".

The closing address of the defence started at around 2:30 pm. The address mentioned Dickason's 16 rounds of IVF, that the family moved to New Zealand in order to provide a better life for the children and that the world was dangerous for her children, that Dickason had postpartum depression after the births of her twins, that her mental health made her very unwell, and that Dickason's husband did not understand her illness, that Dickason was "reliable and consistent" when talking to experts. They said that she was not asked by police why she killed her children, and that Dickason "didn't tell anyone that she killed them out of anger". The defence also said that Dickason's brother, sister or close family members could have given context about her life.

During the closing, there was a small earthquake at noon. The fourth week finished at around 5pm on Friday.

Fifth week

On the fifth week, the case was summed up on Monday and then the final verdict was made afterwards.

At approximately 10am on Monday 14 August, Justice Mander began by summarising the cases to the jury. He started by talking about the Police interview on the day after the deaths of the children, and then told the jury to not let emotion change their ideas, in particular sympathy, prejudice, and others caused by media attention. He mentioned that there were no disputes about Dickason causing the deaths of the children, and that the question is whether it was murder, infanticide or insanity due to the undisputed unbalance of Dickason's mind at the time. He finished summarising the cases at approximately 11:20am, and then went on to summarise the evidence given by the experts assessing Dickason's health. The jury were due to start their decision-making process at 1:55pm; they decided to watch four hours worth of interviews of Dickason and her husband: three hours with the father, and one hour with the mother. They started watching them in court at about 3pm, and Dickason was crying during this time. At 5pm the jury finished for the day.

On 15 August, the jury changed their minds and decided not to watch the husband's interview, saying that they did not need to watch it after already watching the mother's interviews on Monday. At around 10am, they started deliberating their verdicts.

Verdict

On 16 August 2023, Dickason was found guilty of murdering her children in the Christchurch High Court. Following 15 hours of deliberation, the jury reached a majority verdict (11-1) to convict Dickason of three counts of murder. The majority of jurors rejected her partial defence of infanticide and defence of insanity, and accepted the Crown's argument that Dickason "acted methodically, purposefully and even clinically out of anger and control" when she killed her three children.

Dickason stood motionless in the dock as the verdict was delivered. She wept as she was led out of court. Both of Dickason's lawyers and several members of the jury wept following the verdict. Justice Mander remanded her to Hillmorton Hospital until her sentencing date, stating that she was under a compulsory treatment order that made prison inappropriate. Mander has also sought expert reports on Dickason's mental state and an appropriate sentence.

Followng the verdict, Dickason's parents Malcolm and Wendy Fawkes issued a statement blaming postpartum depression for taking the lives of their grandchildren Lianè, Karla and Maya. They also stated there were "no winners in this tragedy" and urged greater awareness of the effects of postpartum depression.

Sentencing

The judge asked to determine the length and type of sentence following a mental health assessment of Dickason. The Sentencing Act presumes that murder would result in life imprisonment unless it would be "manifestly unjust to do so". The decision on whether Dickason will go to jail or the psychiatric unit of Hillmorton Hospital has not yet been decided. Dickason will not be extradited to her home country of South Africa.

In early September 2023, Dickason's sentencing date was set for 19 December 2023. It was later postponed to 2024 as this date became vacated. On 14 February the date was set to 20 March. It was later rescheduled to 26 June due to delays caused by determining whether she should serve her sentence in prison or be detained as a special patient under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992. Until 26 June, she will be staying in Hillmorton Hospital.

She was sentenced on 26 June 2024 to 18 years in prison, as three concurrent determinate sentences of 18 years. She was not given a minimum term of imprisonment, and will be kept in a mental health hospital until she is deemed mentally fit for prison. When the sentence was delivered, Dickason was silent and had no reaction. During the sentencing, victim impact statements from Dickason's family members including Graham and both paternal and maternal relatives were read.

Dickason has been served with a deportation order that will take effect upon her release from prison.

Appeal

In early August 2024, it was reported that Dickason's legal team had lodged an appeal against her conviction in the New Zealand Court of Appeal on 23 July. The grounds for the appeal have not yet been disclosed. If successful, a second trial could be held.

Cost

The New Zealand government granted $709,000 for Dickason's defence in the trial. This included $153,970 for three psychiatric or psychological reports, $71,062.50 on a forensic psychologist, $58,700.81 for expert witnesses, $39,945.78 for "other payments" or disbursements for the witnesses, $6,367.50 on a private investigator, $9,480 on computer forensics, and $3,000 on "expert legal opinion".

Dickason's legal team spent 1714.25 hours working on her defence. Crown Solicitor Andrew McRae spent 732.5 hours.

Responses

Memorials

On 18 September 2021, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) announced that it would help the Dickason family's relatives travel to New Zealand and secure a place in managed isolation per the country's COVID-19 quarantine requirements at the time. The Dickasons' former nanny Mari Sibanyoni also expressed shock and grief after learning of the children's deaths.

On 23 September 2021, a candelight vigil was held in Timaru's Queen Street in honour of the victims Lianne, Maya, and Karla Dickason. Graham also read a letter expressing forgiveness for his wife, honouring the memory of his late children, and thanking friends and family in New Zealand, South Africa, and elsewhere. A similar service was held in Pretoria in honour of the children. Graham subsequently returned to South Africa in December 2021.

The Dickasons' former Timaru neighbours Rob and Jade Whaley also built a memorial garden in honour of the Dickason children, with a tree called the Angel Dickason tree. Three white stones were also placed at the base of the tree in memory of the girls.

Responses to trial and verdict

The Independent Online's Jehran Naidoo compared Dickason to the American mother Andrea Yates, who was acquitted of murdering her five children by reason of insanity following a lengthy legal battle. Naidoo noted that both women suffered from mental illness and post-partum depression, had experienced previous miscarriages, had professionally-accomplished husbands, and killed their children while their husbands were away from home.

In mid August 2023, the jury's verdict was welcomed by Mayor of Timaru Nigel Bowen, who said "the guilty verdicts put the full stop in the story of a very dark time for the town." Bowen encouraged people to check on others in the community, stating "that mental health was something still kept in the shadows." Judge Mander also thanked the jury for their services. Lead investigator Detective Inspector Scott Anderson, local chaplan Alan Cummings, and South Canterbury Chief Medical Officer Dr Ben Pearson also extended sympathies to the victims' families and welcomed the trial verdict as a form of closure.

New Zealand current affairs bloggers David Farrar and Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury labelled the guilty verdict as justice for Dickason's deceased children.

Support for Lauren Dickason

Following her conviction, supporters of Dickason established a Facebook support group called "Support for Lauren Dickason," which attracted a thousand members including her father Malcolm Fawkes. The group was started in July 2022, has over 1,900 members from multiple countries, and is composed mostly of women, with its spokesperson saying that the verdict has caused "Women’s voices [to be] silenced." These supporters have announced plans to organise a march and picnic in Christchurch in November 2023. They intend to walk from the justice precinct to the Christchurch's Botanic Gardens with T-shirts with printings reading "support not silence" and holding sunflowers, the symbol of the support group. A picnic in support of Maternal Mental Health will be held in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens following the walk. In addition, another supporter named Tanya Parker organised a petition urging Judge Mander to consider postpartum depression as a factor in sentencing Dickason, and for the legal profession to recognise postpartum depression as a public health crisis. The group also created a 370–page book of supportive letters titled 'Lauren: Our love and support'. It was sent to Lauren on the day of the second year anniversary of the children's deaths.

In early October, The Press reported that Dickason penned a letter to her supporters thanking them for "your love" during a "difficult time." The letter revealed that she had also made three teddy bears from her late daughters' clothing. In that letter, Dickason also stated that she could never forgive herself for "what happened." In response to media publicity, Hillmorton Hospital authorities restricted Dickason's communications, banning her from sending or receiving letters while awaiting sentencing for her murder convictions. They were later lifted, allowing Lauren to receive letters from her supporters again.