Cape Argus E-dition

Triple tragedy devastates SA family after move

TANYA WATERWORTH tanya.waterworth@inl.co.za

EMIGRATION to New Zealand with the promise of a new life ended in heartbreak and devastation for Dr Graham Dickason and his wife Lauren with the shocking death of their three girls, Liane, 7, and twins, Maya and Karla, 3.

Yesterday the girls’ mother, Lauren, 40, also a doctor, was arrested and charged with the murder of all three girls. She was expected to appear in the Timaru District Court this morning.

The family from Pretoria had just finished the strict quarantine period a week ago and moved into a rented home in a block of units reserved for visiting health officials, just down the road from a hospital in the quiet suburb of Timaru, Canterbury.

Graham is an orthopaedic specialist and Lauren is a doctor in the same field. Pictures on social media showed a happy couple with three adorable blue-eyed, bubbly little girls excitedly arriving in their new country.

But Thursday night’s events have left family and friends back home in South Africa devastated and bewildered about the events leading up to the triple tragedy, details of which remain sketchy

According to the New Zealand Herald, neighbour Jade Whaley said that at about 9.40pm, she and her husband heard banging, followed by sobbing and moaning from the Dickasons’ home.

She added that they saw a neighbour speaking to someone from the back unit, after which police were called.

“Everything got cordoned off. We weren’t sure what had happened, but we knew something significant had happened,” said Whaley, confirming they saw a woman being walked to an ambulance, while a man was taken away in a police car.

According to various news sources in New Zealand, Dickason had arrived home at around 10pm to find his three daughters dead in the house and neighbours heard him screaming and shouting: “Is this really happening?”

In a police statement, Detective Inspector Scott Anderson confirmed three children under the age of 10 had died at the property on Queen Street and that a woman had been taken from the house to Timaru Hospital and was in a stable condition.

“Police would like to reassure the community that this was a tragic isolated incident and we are not seeking anyone else,” said Anderson.

Yesterday there were ex-pat South Africans laying flowers outside the house and an outpouring of sympathy on the South Africans Living In Timaru Facebook group, with Lydia Rothman posting, “heartbreaking, how desolate and hopeless must one feel to do something like this”.

Timaru mayor Nigel Bowen said the community was devastated by the tragedy, describing the street where the incident took place as “just a typical suburb” and relatively quiet.

“There’s a lot of pressure on society at the moment, you have to question the support around mental health. Are we doing the right things in this country?

“I question that we’re probably not,” said Bowen.

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2021-09-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

http://capeargus.pressreader.com/article/281530819156608

African News Agency