Dickason murder trial: Court hears how six-year-old fought back, ‘Why are you doing this to us mum?’

The state has wrapped up its case against South Africa’s killer mum, Lauren Dickason, taking place at the High Court sitting in Christchurch in New Zealand.

The 43-year-old is facing three counts of murder for strangling her three small daughters, six-year-old Liané and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla, with strung together cable ties before smothering them to death with a towel.

The family of five, originally from Pretoria, emigrated to New Zealand in August 2021 on the back of the violent looting and riots that ripped through KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng and amid the global Covid 19 pandemic.

Dickason has pleaded not guilty to the charges because of insanity and infanticide.

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Game of necklaces

The state has not accepted Dickason’s plea and is arguing the mother of three is an angry and frustrated woman who was “resentful of how the children stood in the way of her relationship with her husband”.

Members of the jury watched a tape of Dickason’s one-hour-long confession to police, filmed a day after the triple murder.

According to New Zealand publication The Press, Dickason told investigating officer Detective Michael Kneebone how she gathered her daughters in one bedroom and told the children they were playing a game of making necklaces with cable ties.

She said the twins didn’t say anything to her, but six-year-old Liané was “very angry” and wanted to know why Dickason was doing this to them because she “was the best mum and she [Liané] loves me.”

When asked if the girls were fighting with her, Dickason replied, “Yes, especially the oldest one”.

The mother of three also admitted she had been thinking about hurting her children for eight or nine weeks before that fateful day in September.

ALSO READ: Dickason murder trial: What children’s father told police

Defence begins

Dickason’s defence began its case on Wednesday by calling its first witness, a close relative who has not been identified but knew her [Dickason] for many years.

New Zealand Herald reports the witness shed some light on the Dickason’s fertility struggles, saying they underwent 17 rounds of IVF and lost a baby daughter named Sarah at 18 weeks gestation.

The couple eventually used donor eggs to conceive the three girls.

The relative said she had been unaware of Dicakson’s mental struggles until baby Sarah’s death.

“I think it had a more significant impact on Lauren’s life than we ever imagined,” she said.

The witness also testified that Dickason was worried she would not carry her babies to full term and would never be a parent.

While the family was overjoyed with Liané birth, Dickason still struggled; however, some of her “spark” returned.

After the twin’s birth, the witness testified to Dickason’s continued struggles, for which she sought counselling at the church.

ALSO READ: Dickason murder trial: Court hears from witnesses who first arrived on scene

The pandemic and the July 2021 riots proved to worsen her mental state.

Defence lawyer Anne Toohey said they were not disputing the triple murder but that experts agreed there was an “altruistic motive”.

“In her mind, she was killing them out of love − she was killing herself, and she didn’t want to leave the children… she was so sure this was the right thing to do, she persisted.”

The case continues.