South Africa-born doctor Lauren Dickason is set to return to court in 2027 as she appeals her conviction for the murder of her three young daughters in one of New Zealand’s most widely followed criminal cases.
Dickason, 43, was sentenced in June 2024 to 18 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of killing her daughters, six-year-old Lianè and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla, at the family home in Timaru in September 2021. The family had recently relocated from South Africa to New Zealand shortly before the incident.
According to court records reported by RNZ, the New Zealand Court of Appeal has scheduled a three-day hearing beginning on 9 February 2027 in Wellington. The appeal will centre on claims that the original conviction resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
Her legal team has indicated that further details supporting the appeal will be submitted to the court in due course.
During the original trial, Dickason pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder. Her defence argued that she was not criminally responsible due to severe mental illness, relying on arguments of insanity and infanticide. However, a jury rejected these claims and convicted her in August 2023.
The court later heard extensive psychiatric evidence relating to her mental health history. In sentencing, Justice Cameron Mander found that her severe mental illness played a significant role in the events, describing it as a central factor in her actions. He did not impose a minimum non-parole period and ordered that she be treated as a special patient in a secure mental health facility.
Dickason will become eligible for parole in September 2027 after serving one-third of her sentence.
The case drew widespread international attention, particularly in South Africa and New Zealand, due to the circumstances surrounding the family’s relocation and the ages of the children involved.
Following her sentencing, Dickason expressed deep remorse in a public statement, describing her children as the centre of her world and acknowledging the pain caused to those close to the family. She added that no apology could ever be sufficient for the harm caused.
The upcoming appeal is expected to revisit key psychiatric and legal findings from the original trial, with the Court of Appeal set to determine whether her conviction should stand.
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