Warning: This story contains graphic details and may be triggering to some readers
After hearing evidence from first responders, police officers, psychiatrists, friends and family, the jurors tasked with deciding whether or not Lauren Dickason is guilty of murdering her three daughters, heard closing statements from the defence and prosecution on Friday, New Zealand media reported.
This is what the 12 jurors will have to deliberate on.
The Defence:
The defence has argued that Lauren was in a highly depressive state on September 16, 2021, the evening she killed Lianè, 6, and two-year-old twins, Maya and Karla.
The defence tried to prove that Lauren killed her children and attempted suicide because she saw the world and her new home in New Zealand as a dangerous place and was removing the girls from the environment, Stuff.NZ reported.
It said Lauren was a loving mother who never abused the three girls.
The defence said Lauren suffered from post-partum depression after the birth of her daughters, which took a severe toll on her mental health.
Lauren’s mental health worsened around the time the family were going to leave South Africa for New Zealand, in 2021.
The defence said Lauren having thoughts of wanting to hurt the children and not feeling like she was good enough as a mother, were unique to post-partum depression.
It said it would be difficult to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Lauren did not suffer from post-partum depression, which led to her fatal actions.
The Prosecution:
The prosecution argued in court that Lauren killed her children during a moment of anger and found no evidence of infanticide or insanity, as implied by the defence.
It said Lauren snapped after the children were misbehaving.
The prosecution said Lauren recovered from post-partum depression by late 2020 to early 2021 and claimed that her condition played a small role as a contributing factor.
It highlighted that Lauren had thoughts of wanting to hurt the children before she actually did it.
The prosecution said that during the interview afterwards, Lauren told police the children were not listening so she put zip ties around their necks and had been thinking of doing so for a while.
The prosecution claims Lauren acted with purpose and knew what she was doing during the incident and was not delusional, as the defence had claimed.
The fate of the 42-year-old murder-accused is expected to be decided in the coming days.
IOL
Are you or someone you know affected by mental health? If so here are some important numbers:
The SA Depression and Anxiety Group's 24-hour mental health helpline: 080-045-6789.
The SA Federation for Mental Health: 011-781-1852.