Lauren Dickason, the South African woman accused of murdering her three daughters in New Zealand, has been found guilty.
The 12 jurors, made up of eight women and four men, reached a majority vote on Wednesday, New Zealand media reported.
Dickason admitted to killing her daughters, Lianè, 6, and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla on September 16, 2021 but pleaded not guilty to charges of murder by reason of insanity.
The family had emigrated to New Zealand a few weeks before the killing.
The trial took place over four weeks.
After Dickason was convicted, Justice Cameron Mander ordered the jury to leave and some started crying, Stuff.NZ reported.
Lauren’s lawyers Kerryn Beaton and Anne Toohey were also in tears when the jury passed their verdict.
It was reported that Lauren will remain in a hospital until Justice Mander hands down the sentence.
The prosecution said that Lauren acted out of anger the night she killed her children and that she snapped due to built up frustration.
But the defence argued that Lauren was mentally unwell and did not recover from post-partum depression after the birth of her children.
Lauren’s parents, Wendy and Malcom Fawkes were in attendance as their daughter was convicted. The Fawkes’ also wrote a statement after she was convicted, saying it was not their daughter but a debilitating mental illness.
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