After the death of his three children from South Africa, Graham Dickason sent a letter to his wife to try to understand why she killed their three children. Lauren Dickason was admitted to a New Zealand psychiatric hospital for observation at the time.
In his letter, Graham asks Lauren in so many words why she did it. Lauren’s reply was that she “struggled to understand his lack of understanding” as he had “been through it with her”.
The couple’s letters to each other were read out in the High Court in Christchurch on Monday, NZ Herald reports.
It was also revealed that Lauren during an interview with the forensic psychiatrist Dr. Simone McLeavey told McLeavy that she “didn’t want them (the children) to be brought up by another mother … they didn’t deserve it if Graham got married again”.
McLeavy was the first psychiatrist to evaluate Lauren after her children’s deaths.
Dickason also told another psychiatrist in Hillmorton Hospital: “I didn’t want to leave them behind”, reports Stuff.co.nz.
Several experts are expected to be called to the witness stand this week.
On Monday, the state called the forensic psychiatrist dr. Erik Monasterio called to testify. Monasterio became involved in the case in September 2021 at the request of the state. He has since conducted four nine-hour interviews with Lauren.
According to Monasterio, Graham and Lauren had different parenting styles that sometimes caused tension in the household. Lauren also sometimes felt “rejected” and “alienated” when Graham focused his attention on their children Liané, Maya and Karla, RNews reported this morning.
According to the testimony, the children’s poor behavior meant that she and Graham could not spend time with each other, especially when they had to sleep in separate rooms.
The trial resumes on Tuesday when Monasterio is expected to continue his testimony.
