A photo of the Dickason family, before tragedy struck – Photo: Facebook
A photo of the Dickason family, before tragedy struck – Photo: Facebook
There is perhaps no comprehending the grief experienced by Graham Dickason this year. The father of three, who had emigrated from Pretoria to New Zealand in September, discovered the lifeless bodies of his children at home, just weeks after the family had relocated. The mother, Lauren Dickason, was arrested for the murders.
When is Lauren Dickason appearing in court?
She remains in a psychiatric facility for the time being, but the 40-year-old is set to make her first public appearance since the tragedy unfolded next Friday. The Christchurch High Court will process the murder-accused, who has entered ‘not guilty’ pleas on all three charges filed against her.
Facing a separate count each for the deaths of six-year-old Liané, and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla, the defence aims to prove that their client had ‘diminished responsibilities’ due to her mental state.
Where is Graham Dickason?
It’s thought that the mandatory two-week quarantine period for travellers arriving in New Zealand pushed her towards a very dark space, and her lawyers are prepared to argue this in the dock.
Meanwhile, local sources have since confirmed that Graham Dickason has left the district of Timaru, and returned to his home city of Pretoria within the last month. The surgeon’s dream emigration turned into a horrific nightmare within days, and the grieving father will remain in Mzansi for the foreseeable future.
Father of Timaru girls ‘likely to miss court’
However, Mr. Dickason isn’t likely to attend the court hearing on 17 December, due to the serious travel constraints in place between South Africa and New Zealand. As if it wasn’t tough enough to travel to the island nation already in this pandemic, the Omicron variant has forced NZ to reintroduce stricter border measures.
In a touching show of bravery earlier this year, Graham revealed that he had ‘forgiven’ Lauren for her alleged role in the murders, stating that she was ‘a victim herself’ in this harrowing case.
The children were found dead in their Timaru home last Thursday at around 10:00pm by their father, Graham Dickason, an orthopaedic surgeon from Tshwane (Pretoria).
— Mamelodi Beacon (@MamelodiBeacon) September 23, 2021
In a statement, Graham said he has forgiven his wife and called on others to do the same.
