A mother who brutally murdered her three young daughters has escaped life imprisonment.
There was silence in the courtroom and Lauren Dickason showed no signs of emotion as Justice Cameron Mander imposed a sentence of 18 years' imprisonment when she appeared at the High Court in Christchurch today.
Those closest to Lauren Dickason told the High Court they had forgiven her, but the devastating effects of her actions in September 2021 would resonate through the rest of their lives.
Dickason released a statement through her lawyers shortly after the sentencing this afternoon.
"I loved Liané, Maya and Karla with all my heart. I failed them, I failed Graham, and I failed our families. I take responsibility for taking our three beautiful girls from this world," she said.
"I would like to take this opportunity to convey the deepest and most sincere remorse for the extreme pain and hurt caused to my children and my family by my actions.
"No apology will ever be enough, and words will seem hollow to many. I want people to know our girls brought me so much joy and were the centre of my world. I am horrified by my actions and the pain, distress and trauma I have caused everyone who loved them. Like many others, I miss them every single day."
Dickason will begin her sentence as a patient at a mental health hospital in the custody of the state under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act.
Justice Cameron Mander imposed no minimum non-parole period, saying her severe mental illness was not only a contributing factor to her actions, but the cause.
Dickason will be eligible for parole after she has served a third of her sentence.
"I continue to undergo treatment for severe mental illness, and I owe it to everyone and myself to get mentally healthier. I will do whatever it takes, although I know that will never change the past," her statement read.
The girls' father, Graham Dickason, who has returned to live in South Africa, said he forgave his wife for what she had done, but her actions had robbed of him of the life he knew and the joy his future held.
Lauren smothered 6-year-old Lianè and 2-year-old twins Karla and Maya in their beds on September 16 in 2021.
The family had only recently arrived in New Zealand from South Africa and just moved to Timaru after leaving Covid-19 managed isolation.
Lauren's parents and other family members were in the High Court today. Her father and a close family member read victim impact statements in support of her.
'The real victims are Lianè, Maya and Karla. We will miss them forever'
Graham was not in court, but victim impact statements were read on his behalf, as well as those of his mother and three sisters.
When asked if she had anything to say as to why she should not be sentenced, Dickason did not respond.
She listened intently as the victim impact statements were read, often with a pained grimace on her face and occasionally lowering her eye-line as details of the effects of her offending were read.
Graham's statement said he forgave the woman he married in 2006 for what she had done.
"It is obvious that this tragedy has changed my life forever. I have not only lost my children but also my life with my wife," he said.
He had lost not only the opportunity to see his little girls flourish and grow, but also the opportunity to one day be a grandfather, as he and Lauren had children late in life following a long and difficult journey to conceive.
"I have managed to accept my current situation in life," he said.
"Lauren Dickason has lost everything I have lost. I made the decision to forgive Lauren for what she has done.
"She will have to live with the knowledge of what she has done for the rest of her life.
"Her punishment is already severe ... I hold no ill will to Lauren for what she has done."
Graham said he was pleased she was getting healthcare for her mental health conditions in New Zealand.
"The real victims are Lianè, Maya and Karla. We will miss them forever."
'There is no escaping the pain. It numbs me'
Graham's mother, Bettie Dickason, said she felt like she was living in a horror movie.
"I don't have the vocabulary to accurately describe the pain this has brought me and my family," her victim impact statement said.
"I'm a 78-year-old grandmother who once had 10 grandchildren - now I only have seven.
"There is no escaping the pain. It numbs me. It makes me want to crawl under the covers and never come out again."
Graham's sisters' victim impact statements were also read to the court.
Hermien Naude said the murder of the three girls had broken her mother and revealed she had never really known Lauren at all.
Elisabeth Botes said her brother's strength throughout the ordeal had been incredible.
"When we spoke in anger [against Lauren], he rebuked us," Botes' statement said.
Lauren betrayed the trust and love of her little girls, she said.
"Lauren gave no consideration for the consequences of her actions," Botes said.
"She took the lives of three little girls who loved her.
"They didn't chose her. She chose them."
'The greatest victim in this situation may be Lauren herself'
Cecilia Muller said the deaths of Lianè, Maya and Karla had changed the lives of her family forever and in a way that could never heal.
"I do not think anyone has any idea what Graham went through," her statement said.
"There was a small funeral.
"Seeing Graham walk to the car with the girl's ashes after the funeral broke my heart. Our beautiful girls were reduced to so little.
"I have heard my brother cry in the shower. There were no words to describe the loss."
Muller said she did not hate Lauren.
"I feel a deep sadness and disappointment as things could be different."
Her parents, Malcolm and Wendy Fawkes, called for leniency for their daughter, saying her silent struggle with post-partum depression was more profound and disturbing than anyone had understood.
"She has been punished enough already. She has lost everything, as has her husband," Malcolm told the court.
"She has expressed grief, remorse, shame and incredulity for what she has done."
A close family member, who had name suppression, told the court it was clear the person who killed Lianè, Maya and Karla was not the mother, doctor or woman they knew Lauren to be.
"We can tell how much she loved those three girls and couldn't have been in sound mind when she did what she did," the family member said.
"The greatest victim in this situation may be Lauren herself."
Lauren's family outlined a litany of agencies and individuals they were angry at for failing her and her daughters by failing to detect the severity of her mental health struggles or exacerbating them.
Justice Mander said Dickason had fundamentally breached her daughters' trust as they were vulnerable, entirely dependent on her and unsuspecting as they viewed her as a source of safety and love.
But he accepted if not for her severe mental illness, the murders would not have occurred.
It was why he found either a sentence of life imprisonment or a minimum non-parole period of 17 years would have been manifestly unjust.
Her lawyer, Kerryn Beaton, said Lauren was deeply remorseful for what she had done and would never recover from the loss her actions caused.
Lauren was remanded at Christchurch's Hillmorton Hospital for several months following her guilty verdicts.
She had undergone psychiatric testing at the court's request, leading to delays in her sentencing, which was originally scheduled for December.
At trial, the defence advanced the theory Lauren was in the grips of a severe depressive episode, linked to the lingering effects of postpartum depression.
Details of her long history of mental health battles, IVF struggles, tensions with motherhood and angst around the family's move to New Zealand were laid bare during the four-week trial.
The court also heard of her violent visions in the weeks before the deaths, alongside her web search history, detailing inquiries on "how to cause child drug overdoses".
