On 16 September 2021, Lauren Anne Dickason 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 under 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.
Lauren Dickason
Early life and career
Lauren Dickason is the daughter of Malcolm and Wendy Fawkes. From the age of 15, Dickason experienced depression and anxiety. She also had post-natal depression. Dickason attended a boarding school in Pretoria, South Africa. 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 in 2005. The couple married in 2006.
Children and mental health issues
Her husband, Graham Dickason, is an orthopaedic surgeon. Lauren Dickason had experienced multiple fertility struggles; to have her children, she had IVF done seventeen times, and needed donor eggs in the end. 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 but became a part-time surgeon assistant to Graham.
Dickason later 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
The Dickason family decided to emigrate to New Zealand in 2019. Though they had planned to move in August 2020, 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.