Durban - The mother of three young girls found dead at their home in Timaru in the Canterbury region in New Zealand has been charged with their murders.
New Zealand media is reporting that police have charged Lauren Dickason with the murders of her twin daughters Maya and Karla, 2, and their older sister Liane, 6.
The children’s bodies were found on Thursday by their father Graham Dickason, an orthopaedic surgeon from Pretoria.
Graham and his wife Laura - who is also a doctor - moved to New Zealand with their children last month and had been in Timaru for just a week after coming out of New Zealand’s strict Covid-19 managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ).
According to stuff.co.nz, the 40-year-old mother was charged with their murders late on Friday and will appear in the Timaru District Court on Saturday morning.
“Police would like to reassure the community that this was a tragic isolated incident and we are not seeking anyone else,” Detective Inspector Scott Anderson said in a statement.
Meanwhile, there has been an outpouring of grief from the South African community in Timaru who laid flowers outside the home where the tragedy took place.
Martin Reynecke of the South Africans in Timaru group told stuff.co.nz that the South African community was in shock and would do whatever it could to support the remaining family members.
“Our hearts are breaking for their family back in South Africa and around the world who will wake up to this terrible news,” Reynecke said.
IOL