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

The Lauren Dickason murder trial has entered its fourth day in Christchurch, New Zealand. The court heard from witnesses who had responded to Graham Dickason’s distress call after discovering his dead children.

The girls’ mother admitted to smothering her three small daughters, six-year-old Liané and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla Dickason, but has pleaded not guilty to murder charges by reason of insanity and infanticide.

The Dickason family immigrated from Pretoria to New Zealand in August 2021 after Graham landed a job in Timaru as an orthopaedic surgeon.

But, barely two weeks after landing in the country, Lauren, who has a history of mental illness, snapped and killed her three daughters while her husband was at a work dinner meeting.

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Court hears from witnesses who Graham called on the tragic night

New Zealand publication Stuff reports that Cathy Cvitanich, the wife of Graham’s colleague Mark, told the court that Graham called her husband, saying he had come home from the dinner and found his daughters dead.

When the Cvitanichs arrived at the house, they found Graham at the end of the driveway with his head in his hands.

Cvitanich described Graham howling and mentioning cable ties.

“He said she was mad and that he couldn’t believe she would do that.”

When she asked why Lauren would do something like that, Graham told Cvitanich that she suffered from depression and anxiety.

Cvitanich, who was in tears as she testified, recalled how she held the distraught, crying father as a form of comfort. In those moments of grief, he said, “She did this to hurt me.”

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Lauren’s fragile mental state

The court also heard from other parents and colleagues who interacted with the Dickason family when they were settling into their new home.

New Zealand Herald reports that a mother, Laetitia Smit, who met the family while dropping her children at school, had met Lauren just hours before she killed her children.

Graham had asked the woman to support Lauren because the move from South Africa and the two-week quarantine in New Zealand had taken a toll on his wife.

Smit also testified that Lauren seemed “like she was going through a hard time and had the weight of the world on her shoulders”.

The court also heard how Lauren had been seeking assistance from South African ex-pats for guidance about banking, cost of living, and schools but did not respond to messages from people who tried to contact her that day.

The prosecution is expected to call more than 30 witnesses, including five experts on mental illness and insanity.

The trial continues.

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