Dickason triple murder trial: Husband grilled for not intervening sooner

The triple murder trial of three South African small children, six-year-old Liané and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla Dickason, continued on Wednesday for a second day in the High Court in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The defence attorney for the children’s mother, Lauren Dickason, grilled their father, Graham, about alarming warning signs pointing to their mother’s mental instability in the months leading to their murders.

Lauren is on trial for murdering the couple’s three small daughters on 16 September 2021, shortly after the family arrived in Timaru.

Graham returned home from a work meeting to find his children had been strangled with cable ties.

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Graham Dickason cross exam underway

During the cross-exam, defence lawyer Anne Toohey focused on Lauren’s mental health before the family of five immigrated to New Zealand, saying there were plenty of signs and evidence pointing to her client’s mental instability that was not dealt with.

According to the New Zealand publication, Stuff, Lauren’s defence team is arguing the mother of three was experiencing a major depressive episode, hounded by thoughts that she had to kill herself and take her daughters with her.

During Tooney’s grilling, Graham revealed Lauren’s mood was “flat” and “not really appearing to have joy in anything.”

Toohey said Lauren had become tearful, crying a week before the flights, suffered weight loss that led to physical pain and reduced communications with friends and family.

The court also heard that Lauren’s mother also voiced concerns about her daughter’s mental health.

“Everyone who interacted with Lauren was concerned for her at that stage,” Graham told the court.

According to another publication, RNZ, Graham further stated that his only thought at that stage was getting his wife away from things that were causing her stress, including the July unrest that broke out in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng a month before the family moved.

ALSO READ: Trial set for SA murder-accused mum of three daughters in New Zealand

‘Get your sh*t together’

On Monday, the court heard damning evidence about Lauren’s anger towards her daughters, which was detailed in several messages to friends and family.

Prosecution lawyer Andrew McRae told the court that messages between the mother of three and a friend revealed unhappiness with the size of the quarantine room allocated to the family when they immigrated to Timaru, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

There were also several damning Google searches, including research on lethal medication doses in children, as well as “most effective overdose in children”, “drugs to overdose kids” and “common culprits of medication overdose in children – what you need to know”, a month before the girl’s death.

Toohey zoned in a single instance in which Lauren described one of the ways she could kill the children by feeding them sleeping tablets and cutting their femoral arteries, saying he [Graham] must’ve been very alarmed upon hearing this from Lauren.

ALSO READ: SA children murdered in NZ were strangled with cable ties – report

“I was surprised by what she said. I would say I was concerned … I wouldn’t describe myself as angry, as my primary response, but yes, caught by surprise, and concerned,” he said.

Toohey then moved to another incident, in which Graham allegedly told his wife: “Do you know how crazy you sound? We’re emigrating to New Zealand in 13 days,’ and she needed to ‘get your shit together’. Is it possible you might’ve said words like that?”

Graham said he could not confirm if those were his exact words, or slamming his hands on the bed, as Toohey relayed the events.

“I don’t remember slamming my hands down on the bed. I don’t remember being aggressive. I remember sitting with her on the bed, and she was just out of the bath and she was crying, and I tried to speak with her about what she said.”

Graham also admitted to telling Lauren their daughters could sense her anxiety, which is why they were reluctant to go to her.

Lauren buried her face in her hands as cross-examination was underway. The case continues.

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