- Sentencing for triple murderer Lauren Dickason at the High Court in Christchurch has begun.

- The South African doctor was convicted in 2023 of murdering her three young daughters after a five-week trial.

- Several expert reports were prepared about Dickason’s mental health and personal circumstances which the judge will consider.

- Emotional victim impact statements were delivered in court and Dickason reacted with emotion to some.

- The Crown told the court a starting point of 24-25 years non-parole was appropriate, with a 30% discount for mental illness.

- Dickason’s lawyer argued a mental health unit was the appropriate place for her.

The South African doctor convicted of murdering her three young daughters has been sentenced to serve 18 years in a mental health unit in Hillmorton Hospital.

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.

Shortly after the sentence was handed down Dickason issued a statement saying she had “failed” her daughters.

“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.”

After considering all of the material and legal points, Justice Cameron Mander ruled a life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years or more would be manifestly unjust.

He did not sentence her to life in prison, rather, three determinate sentences of 18 years, to be served concurrently.

He did not set a minimum term of imprisonment, therefore Dickason is eligible for parole after a third of her sentence, six years, has been served.

He ordered Dickason to be detained at a mental health facility for compulsory treatment, rather than prison. She will remain at the facility until she reaches a point she is mentally well enough to be transferred to prison.

When sentenced, Dickason remained silent and did not react. Her mother wept.

Justice Mander began the sentencing by outlining how Dickason killed her three daughters and acknowledged Dickason’s diagnosis with a major depressive disorder in her teens.

He spoke about the reoccurrances of her depression over the years – before and after Liane and then the twins were born.

She was then seeing a psychiatrist regularly for post-natal depression and Justice Mander said it was clear Dickason’s mental state was “in decline” in the months leading up to the triple murder.

She experienced “intrusive ideations” of harming her children during that time.

Justice Mander said since the trial he had been provided with three expert reports about Dickason’s current mental state.

They said there was “recognition of the impact of the offending on others” and that she had expressed “remorse and regret” for killing the little girls.

Several said the woman remained mentally disordered.

“Sentencing a parent for the murder of three children is unprecedented in New Zealand... the children were vulnerable because of their age, but they were entirely dependent upon you as the mother who they look to for care and protection.

”They would have viewed you as an unconditional source of safety and love... The ending represents a fundamental breach of trust.”

Justice Mander acknowledged the grace and stoicism with which Dickason’s husband and their girls’ father Graham had conducted himself throughout the ordeal.

“I also acknowledge the unfathomable loss for both sides of the family.”

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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.