South African doctor and convicted triple-murderer Lauren Dickason, who has been tightly guarded in a psychiatric hospital since being found guilty in August last year of murdering her children in New Zealand, has had her sentencing date postponed yet again.
Although it was initially set down for 19 December, before a nominal sentencing date of 20 March, this week the Christchurch High Court said a new date would be determined “as soon as possible”.
After a five-week trial, Dickason was found guilty of murder after strangling and smothering Liané (six) and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla on 16 September 2021 while her husband was out.
News24 reports that Judge Cameron Mander is expected to sentence Dickason to life imprisonment, the minimum term for murder under New Zealand law.
He will also determine if there is a minimum non-parole period, as well as if Dickason will serve her sentence in prison or at a forensic psychiatric facility.
She has been in custody in a secure psychiatric unit at Hillmorton Hospital, where she is under 24-hour-day supervision, heavily medicated and receiving ongoing intensive treatment for her mental health, News24 previously reported.
During her trial, the jury heard that Dickason suffered from postpartum depression and had, frequently, said that she might hurt her children.
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