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

The murder trial of a South African mother accused of killing her three small daughters in New Zealand has been scheduled for mid-2023.

Lauren Dickason, and her husband Graham, emigrated to New Zealand with their three daughters, six-year-old Liané, and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla in September last year.

The family had been in quarantine for two weeks before being allowed to move to their new home.

Graham Dickason, an orthopaedic surgeon, had just begun his new job at the Timaru Hospital and had been attending a dinner with colleagues on the day of the murders. When he got home from work, he discovered the bodies of his three daughters and his wife in serious condition.

His 40-year-old wife was taken to hospital in a serious condition and into custody shortly thereafter.

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The Otago Daily Times reports Dickason’s case was called in the High Court in Timaru in New Zealand on Friday.

The trial, expected to take several weeks, was initially set for early next year in Timaru, but after a successful application for a change in venue, the trial will be heard in Christchurch on 17 July next year.

Dickason first appeared in the Timaru District Court two days after the murder, but according to reports in New Zealand she has not attended any of her court hearings either in person or via audio-visual link.

Justice Cameron Mander has excused her attendance, citing advice from her managing clinician.

He said, “at this stage, it was thought best not to expose her to the court setting”.

Dickason has been remanded in custody in the medium secure psychiatric unit at Hillmorton.

Her husband Graham has since returned to South Africa.

The family, originally from Pretoria, had reportedly struggled to conceive children before their first daughter was born.

The triple murder rocked the small, usually quiet town of Timaru. In the days that followed the children’s murder, reports revealed that Lauren had also been on medication for an undisclosed mental condition.

But due to strict requirements for New Zealand emigration, Lauren had reportedly stopped taking her medication.

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