LAUREN DICKASON FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER

The South African mom who killed her three children in New Zealand has been found guilty of murder. The jury found Lauren Dickason guilty of the murder of six-year-old Liane and the two-year-old twins Maya and Karla.

The murders took place shortly after Dickason and her family emigrated to New Zealand. She strangled the three children with cable ties while her husband was out for dinner with his colleagues at the hospital where he was newly appointed.

Dickason, also a doctor, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

After the verdict in the New Zealand High Court, Judge Cameron Mander thanked the jury for their service.

He said that he knows the trial had been gruelling and very difficult at times because it involved distressing evidence and that it had taken a toll on each member of the jury.

As they left the courtroom, some of the jury members were seen crying.

News24 reports that Mander was asked to summarise the case for each side, as requested by the jury. He said the prosecution argued that new stressors in Dickason’s life has caused her to be depressed and that her actions on the night of the alleged murders were “a reaction to the anger and frustration at her children’s misbehaviour”, which caused her to snap.

Dickason is currently in custody. Her husband, Graham returned to South Africa shortly after the murders.

Image credit: SA People