Murders of the Dickason Children

On the night of 16 September 2021, Lauren Anne Dickason killed her three daughters — six-year-old Liané and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla — at the family's home in Timaru, New Zealand, five days after the family had arrived in the country as immigrants from South Africa. Graham Dickason, Lauren's husband, had gone out with colleagues that evening; he discovered the children's bodies in their beds upon returning home. Neighbours called police after speaking with a distraught Graham, and officers found the three children dead and Lauren Dickason in the home; she was hospitalised in stable condition after an apparent suicide attempt.

Lauren Dickason had a documented history of mental illness, including depression and anxiety dating to her teenage years, and was diagnosed in 2015 with major depressive disorder with underlying anxiety linked to postpartum depression following the death of her first child, Sarah, who was stillborn in 2013. She reported experiencing homicidal thoughts toward her children as early as May 2019, and her mental health reportedly deteriorated in the months before the killings, including during the family's move to New Zealand and in the days following their arrival in Timaru.

On 17 September 2021, police interviewed Dickason, who admitted to killing her three children. She was arrested and later remanded to a forensic psychiatric unit at Hillmorton Hospital in Christchurch, where she was assessed by five forensic psychiatrists and psychologists. Three concluded she was severely mentally unwell and could support a defence of insanity or infanticide; two others, called by the Crown, concluded she killed her children out of anger and a desire for control.

Dickason's trial began on 17 July 2023 in the Christchurch High Court before Justice Cameron Mander. The Crown, led by prosecutor Andrew McRae, argued Dickason killed her children out of "anger and control" and knew her actions were wrong. The defence, led by Anne Toohey, argued the killings were a spontaneous act driven by severe postpartum depression and mental illness, and sought verdicts of infanticide or not guilty by reason of insanity. On 16 August 2023, after roughly 15 hours of deliberation, a jury returned an 11–1 majority verdict finding Dickason guilty of three counts of murder, rejecting the defences of infanticide and insanity.

Sentencing was delayed multiple times while the court determined whether Dickason should serve time in prison or be detained as a special patient under mental health law. On 26 June 2024, she was sentenced to three concurrent terms of 18 years' imprisonment, without a set minimum non-parole period, and will remain in a mental health facility until deemed fit for prison. She has been issued a deportation order effective upon release. In early August 2024, it was reported that Dickason's legal team had lodged an appeal against her conviction with the New Zealand Court of Appeal.

The case drew significant public attention, including a vigil held in Timaru for the victims, a memorial garden established by former neighbours, and both public support for accountability and organized support groups for Dickason built around awareness of postpartum depression.