Three girls murdered: "Something doesn't add up"
Locals and loved ones alike say they can’t comprehend what’s happened after Lauren Dickason has allegedly murdered her three daughters in Timaru on New Zealand’s South Island.
The three girls were found dead at home - twin sisters Maya and Karla, aged two and Liane, aged six. New Zealand Police did not share the nature of their injuries.
Their mother Lauren Dickason, a doctor, briefly fronted court on Saturday morning, charged with murder.
Police state no other people are sought in relation to this crime
New Zealand Police have made a statement saying: ‘Police would like to reassure the community that this was a tragic isolated incident and we are not seeking anyone else.’
‘The investigation into this tragedy is still in its very early stages, but we can confirm that nobody else is being sought in relation to the deaths of the three children,’ another statement read.
Lauren Dickason’s husband Graham, an orthopaedic surgeon, is reported to have returned home from work late last week to find the girls’ bodies and was said to have been “crying hysterically”.
The Dickason family had moved to New Zealand from South Africa to start a new life in August and had exited two weeks of mandatory hotel quarantine only last week.
Neighbour’s and friends can’t comprehend the situation
Lauren’s former colleague and neighbour, Natasja le Roux, told media she “cannot comprehend what happened”.
“(Lauren) is a medical doctor and she wasn’t arrogant or anything like that,” le Roux said.
“She was very humble.”
Le Roux said the couple had “waited years for those children” after struggling with fertility.
When Lauren finally fell pregnant, everyone around the family was supportive and Le Roux said: “The nicest person it could happen to is that woman; she was really just a nice person, she and her husband.”
Another neighbour, who lived in the same area as the couple, said the parents “absolutely adored those children”.
“Something just doesn’t seem right to us,” the neighbour, who did not want to be identified.
“We don’t know what happened. There is not a lot of information, but they are kind people.
“Something just doesn’t add up.
“I don’t know if it’s the stress from New Zealand, moving there, being quarantined for so long and everything - just not coping with that going on.
“So, I think whatever happened is not normal, it wasn’t normal circumstances.”
“Something just doesn’t add up.”
Grandparents are in a “state of shock”
In a statement, Lauren’s parents and the children’s grandparents Wendy and Malcolm Fawkes, said the extended family were in a “state of shock”.
“The extended families are in a state of shock as we try to understand what happened,” their statement read.
“We ask for your prayers and support during this very difficult time. We would also request privacy as we battle to come to terms with what has happened.”
“I’m torn apart”
Mandy Sibanyoni, who worked as a nanny for the Dickasons in South Africa, described them as an “awesome family” with “wonderful kids” and no obvious problems.
She said the only sign of “stress” she saw from Lauren was as a result of one of her daughters being born with a lip disfigurement, which needed surgical interventions.
But both parents “loved their kids like nobody’s business,” she said.
“I’m torn apart - a part of mine is gone,” Sibanyoni said in an interview with media in South Aftrica.
“And it’s like those kids, they are my kids too because I raised them.”
“I don’t know what to do about this because the only question that I’ve got now is, what happened? What went wrong? Because Lauren cared for her kids,” Sibanyoni added.
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