Lauren Dickason is on trial for the murder of her three daughters in Timaru in 2021. Photo: Pool / NZME/ George Heard
Warning: This story contains distressing content.
A court has been told there is no question Lauren Dickason was severely mentally unwell on the night she killed her three children and did it out of love.
Dickason is on trial in Christchurch for the murder of her two-year-old twins, Karla and Maya, and six-year-old Liané in Timaru in 2021.
She denies the charges, and her defence - arguing insanity and infanticide - opened its case today.
Defence lawyer Anne Toohey told the court that the night Lauren Dickason killed her children, and tried to take her own life, in her mind she was doing it out of love.
"All of the defence experts formed the view that Lauren had an altruistic motive. That means that Lauren killed her children out of love.
"In her mind she was killing them out of love because she was killing herself, she did not want to leave her children behind. She was so sure that this was the right thing to do."
Toohey said Dickason was battling a serious depressive disorder.
She said Dickason's mental health steeply declined from July 2021 due to the riots and unrest in South Africa when her family was preparing to emigrate.
She had also never fully recovered from her postpartum depression after childbirth.
"Why did she kill her three beautiful girls, who she fought for years to get through brutal IVF treatments, her girls who she loved and protected? The answer is that Lauren was severely mentally unwell."
Toohey said Dickason told psychiatrists that she did not want to leave her children behind without a mum.
"She also wanted to save her children from suffering, from her being such a bad mother. It was an impulsive decision, she did not plan it."
The court heard from a close family member - whose name has been suppressed - who described Dickason as an affectionate and involved parent who cared deeply about her children's safety.
"She would help at school plays and and sports days, for the girls she would arrange incredible parties and fun activities for them. She really tried to make their lives as memory-filled and as fun filled as possible.
"The girls had only the best of everything. She was very protective over them - they had the best of the best car seats on the market."
The Crown argues Dickason acted out of frustration, despair and tiredness and knew her actions were morally wrong.
The trial continues.
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