South African mum Lauren Dickason to be sentenced today for murdering three young daughters

The South African doctor convicted of murdering her three young daughters will be sentenced in the High Court at Christchurch this morning.

Lauren Anne Dickason, 41, was found guilty of murdering Liane, 6, and 2-year-old twins Maya and Karla at their Timaru home in September 2020.

The family had emigrated from Pretoria, arriving in New Zealand on August 28.

They spent two weeks in managed isolation and then travelled to Timaru, where Dickason’s husband Graham had taken a job as an orthopaedic surgeon.

Graham and Lauren Dickason with their daughters (from left) Maya, Karla, and Liane.

Dickason admitted killing the girls by smothering them but denied charges of murder.

She had mounted a defence of insanity or infanticide on the basis she was so mentally unwell at the time, that she could not be held fully responsible for her actions.

After a high-profile five-week trial in 2023, a jury found Dickason guilty of three counts of murder.

She will be sentenced today by Justice Cameron Mander.

Dickason is facing life in prison, with Justice Mander to determine a minimum non-parole period, and where she will serve her time.

She remains in a secure unit at Hillmorton Hospital, and he may order her to stay there until her health improves enough for her to be transferred to a women’s prison.

If her health has improved adequately, she may be sent to prison today.

Justice Mander had ordered a number of detailed reports from psychiatric experts to help him reach an appropriate sentencing decision for Dickason.

Victim impact statements from members of the little girls’ family may be read in court.

Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years with a particular focus on family violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz.