Warning: This story contains graphic details and may be triggering to some readers.
As the trial of a South African woman who is accused of killing her three young children in New Zealand unfolds, evidence of messages Laura Dickason sent was brought to the court’s attention.
Dickason, 42, a medical doctor, is accused of killing her children in September 2021 days after the family emigrated to New Zealand.
She has pleaded not guilty to the murder of her daughters aged 6 and 2-year-old twin girls.
In the latest court proceedings on Friday according to the New Zealand Herald, messages allegedly sent by Dickason showed her resent and anger.
Some of these messages included:
– “I think God is trying to torture me by giving me the noisiest kids ever”.
– “Tonight Graham and I decided that our children will not abuse and scream at us and hit us any further. From one on they will get hidings and all their nice things will be held back until they start showing some respect. Tonight they threw corn at me and said the meat is disgusting. Then they hit me when I told them off. Maybe the twins are just in terrible twos but f*&^, they are going to kill me. I was so angry tonight, I was haking”.
According to the New Zealand Herald the over 300 000 were sent and received by Dickason to her husband, friends and family.
These messages span from 2016 and some were sent hours before the girls were killed.
Dickason has pleaded insanity and her lawyer Kerryn Beaton KC told the jury that she was in a dark place so removed from reality during the murders.
In these messages Dickason also aired her frustration of never spending time with her husband saying there is “no time to just sit and talk” as “there is always a kid in the middle”.
In addition the court heard how Dickason was scared of the unrest and violence in South Africa and how they had been sleeping with a 9mm calibre firearm beside the bed.
But Dickason told another friend that they were moving to New Zealand to give their daughters “whom they had prayed for so long” an adventure of a lifetime.
In earlier court proceedings Graham Dickason, provided to the court a harrowing account of his wife’s mental state in the months leading up to the murders.
According to the New Zealand Herald he painting a picture of a woman under immense stress and struggling with her mental health.
IOL
Are you or someone you know may be affected by mental health? If so here are some important numbers:
- The SA Depression and Anxiety Group’s 24-hour mental health helpline: 0800 456 789
- The SA Federation for Mental Health: 011 781 1852
