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It has been two years since the tragic case of a mother allegedly killing her three daughters shortly after moving from South Africa to New Zealand.

The triple homicide shook the world, with everyone wondering what could drive a mother to end the lives of her children.

Lauren Dickason was remanded in custody to the medium secure psychiatric unit at Hillmorton Hospital in New Zealand, having been found unresponsive and in critical condition on the day of the murder.

Her husband, orthopaedic surgeon Graham Dickason, found the three children dead and Lauren in a serious condition at their Timaru home on September 16, 2021. He had just come back from dinner with colleagues.

After going to hospital, Lauren was immediately arrested for the alleged murder of her children – six-year-old Liané, and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla.

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The family had emigrated to New Zealand from Pretoria, South Africa, and had only been in Timaru two weeks when the children died.

The specific details of their deaths have been suppressed, and Lauren has not attended any of her court hearings either in person or via audio-visual link since first appearing in the Timaru District Court two days after the alleged murders.

But yesterday, she made a court appearance before Justice Rob Osborne in the High Court at Christchurch ahead of her trial, which is set to start on July 17. It has been confirmed she will mount a defence of insanity and infanticide at her trial, New Zealand Herald reported:

She sat quietly in the dock with a support person, listening to her lawyer Kerryn Beaton KC speak in the short hearing – a callover to work through administrative issues ahead of the trial.

It has been confirmed that Dickason will use a defence of insanity and infanticide – with three defence experts agreeing at the time the children died she was insane and therefore not criminally culpable.

…Graham Dickason may be called to give evidence about the day his children were killed and at least four expert witnesses will speak to whether the alleged murderer was insane or not at the time of the killings.

Reports coming out of New Zealand at the time said that Lauren had stopped taking chronic medication for apparent depression before moving to New Zealand, with claims that she did so because of the country’s strict immigration policies.

Graham Dickason has returned to South Africa since the tragedy but has visited New Zealand at least once. A week after the alleged murders, he said he had forgiven his wife and felt she was also a victim in the tragedy.

[source:nzherald]