Emotions Ran High After SA Doctor Lauren Dickason Was Found Guilty of Murdering Her 3 Daughters

• South African doctor Lauren Dickason has been found guilty of murdering her three young daughters in New Zealand
• A New Zealand jury struggled over three days to reach a majority guilty verdict, with emotions running high in court
• Despite the defence's argument of mental health issues, the prosecution maintained that the gruesome act was not connected to her mental history

CHRISTCHURCH - South African doctor Lauren Dickason has been convicted for the murder of three young daughters.

A New Zealand jury found Dickason guilty after she stood trial for killing her 2-year-old twins, Karla and Maya and her 6-year-old, Liané, on 16 September 2021, shortly after the family relocated to the country.

Dickason smothered and strangled her daughters before attempting to kill herself by overdosing on pills.

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Case of SA doctor who murdered her three kids took a toll on the jury

According to News24, Dickason was found guilty of three counts of murder after a gruelling and emotional trial.

Coming to a guilty verdict was not an easy task for the jury. It took three days of deliberations, and the jury returned to the judge to ask for instruction because they could not make a unanimous decision.

The presiding judge, Judge Cameron Mander, said he would accept a majority verdict. This means 11 of the 12 jurors had to agree on the same verdict, and all 12 had to agree that they couldn't come to the same decision, reports the NZ Herald.

The South African doctor faces a life sentence for each child she murdered.

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Emotions ran high after Lauren Dickason was found guilty

Emotions ran high after Dickason's guilty verdict was read out in court.

Mander said the case and the evidence presented had taken an emotional toll on the jury and thanked them for their service. Some of the jury members reportedly left the courtroom with teary eyes.

“You’ve had to deal with distressing evidence, this trial has likely taken a toll on your personally. You have made a considerable sacrifice," said Mander.

The New Zealand publication notes that both of Dickason's lawyers burst out in tears after the jury read the guilty verdict. Her defence team argued that Dickason's mental state was why she murdered her three children.

However, the prosecution argued that the gruesome act had nothing to do with her history of mental health issues.

South Africans share their thoughts on the guilty verdict

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@Cindy76896563 said:

"Good.. now she can get all the solitude and personal attention she wanted so badly."

@ismaeelmuslim said:

"How does a person kill another person, let alone their own 3 children?"

@BevNursing said:

"Excellent. Glad the trial was in NZ. She would have gotten away with it in the land of "the best Constitution in the world". Those poor little angels deserved better than this monster."

@aniobrien said

"Guilty of murder by majority jury. In my opinion, this is the right decision. She is clearly mentally ill, but many are mentally ill and never harm anyone. She was capable of understanding what she was doing and is responsible for her actions."

@Renayhuman said"

"Although there are no winners here, justice prevailed. Lauren will pay for her atrocious behaviour against those she was to protect. Her children."

Debt drives desperate Eastern Cape mom to kill her children and herself after family “starved for weeks”

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Briefly News previously reported that overwhelming poverty has driven a desperate mother to do the unthinkable. Bongeka Buso tragically killed her three children before taking her own life in Butterworth, Eastern Cape.

The 38-year-old woman allegedly poisoned her two younger children, aged five and eight, and stabbed her 14-year-old daughter before she hung herself.

The bodies of the deceased who discovered by a debt collector who came to the Buso's house looking for repayment of a loan.

Source: Briefly News