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Warning: This story contains graphic details and may be triggering to some readers.
As the third week of Lauren Dickason trial continues at High Court in Christchurch, New Zealand, we look at the facts of the case and draw some comparison to the Andrea Yates Trial, the American woman who was acquitted of murdering her five children, by reason of insanity.
Just after 9am on the morning of June 20, 2001, Russel Yates, a NASA engineer at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, left home for work, according to a report by The Lancet.
His wife, Andrea, and their five children were at home.
Shortly after he left, Andrea Yates filled their bathtub with water and drowned her five children — seven-year-old Noah, five-year-old John, three-year-old Paul, two-year-old Luke, and their six-month-old sister Mary — one by one.
Andrea then called the police and told them she had killed her children. She also called her husband.
Andrea said she considered killing them for two years and she felt like she had not been the best mother and that they were not developing properly.
She also believed she was marked by satan.
Andrea believed by killing her children, she was saving them from eternal damnation.
She was charged with capital murder, while the prosecution sought after the death penalty.
On March 15, 2002, Andrea was sentenced to life in prison, Click2Houston reported.
In January 2005, a Texas appeals court reversed her conviction and granted Andrea a new trial.
This, after it was learnt that the prosecution’s witness, Dr. Park Dietz, a forensic psychiatrist, gave erroneous testimony that had influenced the jury, History.com reported.
In July 2006, Andrea was found not guilty by reason of insanity. She was immediately sent to a mental hospital in Texas and has been there ever since.
Similarities between Yates and Dickason:
Both women suffered from mental illness and post-partum depression
The court heard how Lauren suffered from depression from her teenage years, according to her mother Wendy Fawkes, who testified during the second week of the trial.
Andrea Yates showed signs of mental illness shortly after the birth of the couple's first child, when she had a hallucination that involved a stabbing, the Lancet wrote.
After the birth of her fourth child, Andrea attempted to take her own life by means of overdose. She was put on antidepressants.
We also learnt from the urinary test Lauren had to take a day after the killings on September 16, 2021, found she had a mixed cocktail of prescription drugs in her system ,one of which being antidepressants.
Both women lost a baby
Andrea had one miscarriage since she got married to Russel in 1993.
Lauren and her husband Graham had lost a baby, Sarah, at 22-weeks-old, the court heard. The court also heard of Lauren’s harrowing journey to fertility, which included 17 rounds of IVF.
Lauren’s mother, Wendy, told the court she saw the effects the IVF had on her daughter both mentally and physically.
Both women were medical professionals
LaurenDickason and Andrea were both professionals in the medical field. Andrea worked as a nurse and Lauren, a doctor.
Both woman had professionally accomplished husbands
Lauren’s husband, Graham, works as a medical doctor while Andrea Yates' husband Russel, worked as an engineer at NASA.
Both women waited for their husbands to leave home before killing their children
The court in New Zealand heard that it was about 20 minutes after Graham left the family’s home in Timaru for a work function, when Lauren went into the garage to find cable ties to strangle her three daughters, Maya, Karla and Liané.
Andrea Yates filled her bathtub with water shortly after her husband left home for work the morning of the killings.
What the Yates case meant for the legal system
In 2003, the state of Texas passed the Andrea Yates bill, a piece of legislation that requires all prenatal care providers to give new mothers information about resources available to help them with postnatal depression.
Lauren Dickason’s case is expected to come to a close by the end of this week, while the fate of the 42-year-old rests in the hands of her 12 jury.
Lauren’s defence has based their argument on the grounds of insanity and infanticide.
The defence’s expert witness, Dr Susan Hatters-Friedman, has concluded that Lauren’s post-partum depression caused the death of her children, while the prosecution’s expert witness, Dr Erik Monasterio, says post-partum could not be used as a defence.
Both witnesses are clinical psychologists.
IOL
Are you or someone you know affected by mental health? If so here are some important numbers:
The SA Depression and Anxiety Group's 24-hour mental health helpline: 080-045-6789.
The SA Federation for Mental Health: 011-781-1852.