A grieving dad whose wife killed their three children has broken his silence and claimed his wife of 15 years wanted to hurt him.
On September 16, 2021, 42-year-old Lauren Anne Dickason from New Zealand killed her three daughters – 2-year-old twins Karla and Maya and 6-year-old Liane – at their family home on the South Island.
After the gruesome crime, Dickason admitted to killing her children by suffocation while insisting that the shocking killings were not murders. The mother also claimed insanity as she pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.
Meanwhile, the court heard the testimony of two witnesses who recalled the three girls’ father’s reaction after finding out that his children were taken away from him forever.
Mark and Cathy Cvitanich were passing by the family’s home when they heard Graham Dickason “howling” and crying “horribly” after discovering his beloved daughters were dead.
“He had his coat over his head, hands over his head… He said ‘they are dead’ and he mentioned cable ties. He mentioned ‘she is mad’ and that he couldn’t believe she killed them and he’d been married to her for 15 years,” the couple revealed.
“He said she suffered from depression and anxiety… I just held him… He said he did not know what he was going to do – they were his babies.
“He was crying and saying ‘my babies’ – he was really crying. He said ‘she’s done this to hurt me.’”
Mrs. Cvitancih went on to say that she didn’t know where the children’s mother was at the time and that Mr. Dickason told them she had “taken something” and was “out of it.”
The court also heard a statement from Laetitia Smit, a school mom who spoke to Mr. Dickason just hours before his wife committed the killings. She explained that the headteacher had asked her to talk to the couple because they had just moved into the country and might have needed support.
“Can I ask you one thing – can you just support my wife? The last two weeks in South Africa and two weeks in managed isolation broke her,” she recalled Mr. Dickason telling her.
“She didn’t say much. She seemed out of it – like a cloud was over her. It’s hard to explain, but it looked like she was going through a hard time and had the weight of the world on her shoulders.”
Following her chat with the dad, Smit also exchanged phone numbers in an attempt to arrange a get-together. When she called the family later that day, however, she received no response.
The trial continues.