A mother jailed for smothering her three young daughters has coldly described her 18-year jail term for triple murder as “a victory for mental health”.
Lauren Dickason, 41, murdered her two-year-old twin daughters, Maya and Karla, and her six-year-old sister Lianè, at their home in Timaru, New Zealand, on September 16, 2021.
Dickason admitted to killing the children but pleaded not guilty to the charges, arguing that she could not be held responsible because she was mentally ill.
She faced a grueling five-week trial before a jury found her guilty of three counts of murder last August.
Judge Cameron Mander said last Wednesday that her mental health problems were a factor in preventing her from being jailed for life.
He said the “systematic and methodical” approach to the brutal killings reflected Dickason’s belief that the girls “were better off dead”.
Dickason issued a statement after being sentenced to six years in prison for the deaths of each of the girls, saying she “owed it to everyone and to myself to be mentally healthier.”
“I will do whatever it takes, even though I know that will never change the past,” he added.
A mother who brutally murdered her three daughters, Lauren Dickason (pictured), has avoided a life sentence because mental issues were a “causal factor” in the killings.
However, that was not all she had to say, as Dickason sent a series of notes to her supporters, which were shared on a Facebook group campaigning for the murderous mother.
In the most recent ‘Note from Lauren’, you can see for him New Zealand HeraldDickason thanked those who advocated for his release for their “love and support.”
“Yesterday was a day of victory for maternal mental health,” the note reads.
‘Judge Mander listened to me. His decision is fair and just.
‘Thank you all for your love and support over the past year.
‘Thank you for believing my side of the story – that I am not an angry, jealous, selfish person, but a mother suffering from severe mental illness while trying to raise three beautiful girls and support my husband in all his endeavors.’
‘I believe you can have it all, but not all at once.
‘Be kind to yourself and talk until someone listens. Don’t be ashamed to admit if you can’t cope.
“There is a way out that doesn’t have to end in tragedy.”
Dickason murdered her two-year-old twin daughters, Maya and Karla, and her six-year-old sister Lianè (all pictured) at their home in Timaru, New Zealand, on 16 September 2021.
Dickason first tried to kill her children with cable ties and then suffocated them with pillows. She then placed them in their beds under the sheets and tried to kill herself.
Judge Mander told Dickason during her sentencing that her children were not only vulnerable because of their age, but because they were…They are completely dependent on you as the mother to whom they turn for care and protection.”
“They would have seen you as an unconditional source of security and love… The ending represents a fundamental violation of trust.”
He sentenced her to three fixed terms of 18 years to be served simultaneously and did not set a minimum prison term.
Judge Mander also ruled that Dickason would be detained in a mental health facility for mandatory treatment until she is mentally fit enough to be transferred to prison.
Dickason will be eligible for parole after serving six years of his sentence.
Through her lawyer, the mother of three took responsibility for the deaths and apologized for the pain she had caused her husband Graham.
“I loved Liané, Maya and Karla with all my heart. No apology will ever be enough and words will sound hollow to many,” she said.
“I want people to know that our girls brought me so much joy and were the center of my world. I am horrified by my actions and the pain, heartache and trauma I have caused to everyone who loved them. Like so many others, I miss them every day.”
Through her lawyer, the mother of three took responsibility for the deaths and apologized for the pain she had caused her husband Graham and their families.
Dickason, a former physician, said she wanted people to be aware of the risks of postpartum depression and was dedicated to improving her mental health.
‘We urge other families to look for warning signs and act on them. We urge women who experience symptoms of postpartum depression to tell their loved ones.
“This pain and anguish cannot happen to any other family.”
Judge Mander said Dickason had struggled with poor mental health for much of his life and was diagnosed with major depressive disorder in his teens.
Her mental state worsened after the birth of her daughters and she began seeing a psychiatrist for treatment for postpartum depression.
Dickason began experiencing intrusive thoughts of harming her children in the months before the triple murder, Judge Mander said.
Following the murder trial last August, the judge said he had been provided with three expert reports on Dickason’s current mental health.
The reports found she had “acknowledged the impact the offending had on others” and had expressed “regret and remorse” for killing her three daughters.
Some experts said Dickason was still plagued by mental disorders.
Judge Mander said Mr Dickason, who is also a doctor, had conducted himself with grace and stoicism despite the “unfathomable loss”.
She and her husband had moved to New Zealand from South Africa just days before the murders, seeking a more stable lifestyle for their family.
Her husband, an orthopedic surgeon, returned from a work dinner to find his children dead. He later told police he knew his wife was struggling with her mental health and motherhood, but he had no idea she was capable of killing.
The guilty verdict came after a four-week trial. The jury, made up of eight women and four men, rejected Dickason’s legal defences under New Zealand’s insanity and infanticide laws and voted 11 to 1 to find her guilty.