Lauren Dickason is guilty of murder, jury says, as parents cite 'crippling disease' for family tragedy

Pretoria expat Lauren Dickason has been found guilty of murdering her three children in their beds.

She admitting killing daughters Liané, 6, and twins Maya and Karla, 2, in September 2021, three weeks after emigrating to New Zealand, but had hoped to persuade the court in Christchurch that she was not guilty of murder due to insanity and infanticide.

The majority verdict of guilty on three counts of murder was reached by a jury of eight women and four men after two and a half days of deliberations, Stuff magazine and the NZ Herald reported on Wednesday. Judge Cameron Mander said the jury could deliver a majority verdict if 11 agreed and one disagreed and they could not reach an unanimous decision. 

Dickason’s parents Malcolm and Wendy Fawkes, who were in court, released a statement after the verdict saying there are “no winners in this tragedy” and encouraged greater awareness of the need for psychological interventions.

“Post-partum depression is a terrible thing, as has been shown by what happened to our family.

“This was not our daughter, but a debilitating mental illness which resulted in an awful tragedy.”

They said Lianè, Karla and Maya were “taken from this life to another as a result of this crippling disease”.

“We would like to encourage families and individuals around the world to be aware of the symptoms of post-partum depression as early as possible, both for yourselves as well as close family and friends around you.

“If treated early and managed correctly, people can experience a full recovery. The person experiencing depression and those closest to them may not be able to recognise the signs or how serious post-partum depression can become.”

Her court heard evidence that Dickason has had mental health issues since her teenage years. After a gruelling fertility journey including at least 17 rounds of IVF, the loss of a baby early in a pregnancy and her struggles with motherhood, the defence argued she'd thought it would be kindest to take the children “to heaven” with her when she committed suicide.

The jury had asked to rewatch Dickason's police interview shortly after the murder, in which she confessed to killing the children and admitted to having had prior thoughts of murdering them.

The prosecution's case was that while she had been depressed, Dickason had known what she was doing and yet did not contemplate stopping. She struggled to adapt to motherhood and was resentful at the way the children got in the way of her relationship with her husband Graham.

Dickason now faces a potential life sentence for the murder of each child. She was remanded back to the psychiatric hospital where she has been receiving treatment pending sentencing. A date for this is yet to be announced.