A mother who killed her three young daughters by suffocating them while they slept has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Lauren Dickason, 41, was found guilty last August of murdering her two-year-old twin daughters, Maya and Karla, and her six-year-old sister Lianè, in their home in Timaru, New Zealand, on September 16, 2021.
Dickason at first tried to kill his children with zip ties and then smothered them with pillows. He then placed them in their beds under the covers and tried to commit suicide.
She admitted to killing the girls, but pleaded not guilty to the murder, arguing that she was experiencing postpartum depression and was mentally disturbed at the time.
The judge ruled that Dickason will spend 18 years (six for each daughter) detained in a mental health facility with no minimum prison sentence.
Judge Cameron Mander told the court that a life sentence with a minimum parole period of 17 years or more would be too unfair. reports the NZ Herald.
He sentenced her to three specific terms of 18 years to be served simultaneously and did not set a minimum prison sentence.
Judge Mander also ruled that Dickason would be detained in a mental health facility for mandatory treatment until she mentally recovers before being transferred to prison.
Dickason will be eligible for parole after six years of his sentence have been served.
Lauren Dickason, 41, was found guilty last August of murdering her twin daughters Maya and Karla, two, and her sister Lianè, six, in their home in Timaru, New Zealand, on September 16, 2021 (appears in the photo). July 2023)
In the photo, the twins Maya and Karla, two years old, and their sister Lianè, six years old.
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 suffice and words will seem hollow to many,’ she said.
‘I want people to know that our girls brought me so much joy and were the centre of my world. I am horrified by my actions and by the pain, heartache and trauma I have caused to everyone who loved them. Like so many others, I miss them every day.’
Dickason, a former doctor, said she wanted people to know about the risks of postpartum depression and was dedicated to improving their mental health.
‘We urge other families to look for and act on signs that are harmful to health. We urge women experiencing 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 most of his life and was diagnosed with major depressive disorder in his teenage years.
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.
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 his 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 state of mental health.
Reports found that she had “recognized the impact of the crime on others” and had expressed “regret and remorse” for killing her three daughters.
Some experts said Dickason still suffered from mental disorders.
Judge Mander said Dickason, who is also a doctor, had behaved with grace and stoicism despite the “unfathomable loss”.
“Sentencing a father for the murder of three children is unprecedented in New Zealand,” she said. “The children were vulnerable because of their age but were completely dependent on you as their mother to whom they turned for care and protection.
“They would have seen you as an unconditional source of security and love… The ending represents a fundamental breach of trust.”
Dickason and her husband had moved to New Zealand from South Africa just days before the murders, seeking a more stable lifestyle for their family (pictured).
Dickason 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 their children dead. He later told police that he knew his wife was struggling with her mental health and motherhood, but that 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 defenses under New Zealand’s infanticide and insanity laws and voted 11 to 1 for her to be found guilty.