‘This was not our daughter, but a debilitating mental illness’− Lauren Dickason’s parents speak

Lauren Dickason’s parents have reacted to her being found guilty of murdering her three children, saying it was a “debilitating mental illness”, which led to the tragic events.

The 42-year-old Dickason admitted to strangling her three little girls: Liane, six, and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla before smothering them to death in September 2021.

The South African doctor had emigrated to New Zealand with her husband and children before the incident.

She pleaded not guilty to murder during her trial, claiming she was severely mentally-ill at the time, and pleaded insanity or infanticide. A jury on Wednesday reached a majority 11-1 verdict after two days of deliberation.

Reacting to the ruling, Dickason’s parents Malcolm and Wendy Fawkes thanked the people of New Zealand, South Africa, and from around the world who had been “so understanding of the effects of postpartum depression and mental illness”.

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“Postpartum depression is a terrible thing, as has been shown by what happened to our family on 16 September 2021.

“This was not our daughter, but a debilitating mental illness which resulted in an awful tragedy, the details of which you are by now well aware.

“Our beloved Lianè, Karla, and Maya were taken from this life to another as a result of this crippling disease.”

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They called on families around the world to watch for signs of postpartum depression.

“If treated early and managed correctly, people can experience a full recovery,” they added.

Stone-faced and tears

Dickason stood stone-faced as the verdict was handed down. She will be detained in a mental hospital until her sentencing.

Stuff NZ reported that several jurors left the courtroom crying after intense and emotional deliberation.

Additional reporting by Cornelia Le Roux