Physician Commits Unthinkable Crime | Lauren Dickason Case Analysis 

I am self-critical and become stressed easily, so I decided years ago not to have children. I am 35 and do not regret my decision.

Her husband was a fool. If your wife tells you three times that she wants to kill your kids, you should pay attention and do something about it.

Wait, Lauren's husband is a physician? She told him 3 times she was going to murder their children? And she was self medicating?

Just once being told she wants to kill the kids, is all it should take for the husband to get those kids away from the mom.

Too bad that she didn’t decide to abandon them rather than kill them. Or decided not to have children at all. She went through 17 rounds of IVF. Crazy

Husband is guilty too. He was told THREE TIMES she wanted to kill them and he did NOTHING

Imagine the trouble she could've saved by just NOT having kids to begin with.

This is a tragedy at so many levels. I think many times depression is seeing as a “lesser” consequential mental illnesses, however it can be just as destructive as other perceived more serious mental disorders. Thank you, Dr. Grande.❤

Going to make necklaces?! What the actual hell? That's disgustingly cruel.

It's hard to understand why she tried so hard to have children only to kill them. Mind boggling.

I had post partum depression with my 2nd child, I started having negative feelings and thoughts, I reached for help and was not helped, it took everything I have not to do something crazy, I still feel guilty and shame remembering that.

I have experienced deep, profound depression and got treatment. But I knew I didn't want kids. Knowing the overwhelm of IVF treatments I am stunned her fertility specialist cleared Lauren for 17 rounds total especially after her first post-partum depression! It sounds like professional courtesy, not caution, was driving things. IVF is an industry first. A sad state all around and especially for the daughters.

So she desperately wanted kids, had kids, then discovered kids are individual human beings with their own laundry list of issues and problems just like adults are. Then she decides murder is the answer. Wow. She also made a not great decision to have kids knowing she was struggling with mental health issues. Also...her husband and family listened to her talking about killing her kids and DID NOTHING?? Ok. 🤯

I’m wondering if she figured having kids would finally make her happy (expecting unconditional love). She may have seen them as her cure, not as individuals for her to raise. It’s a very self-centered reason to have children. My mother had a terribly lonely childhood. She always said she wanted nothing more than to have lots of children. She and my dad had five of us. But as a mom she was cold and distant. She was interested in having us but she wasn’t interested in raising us.

As I was raising my daughter, I taught her as much as I could about being a homemaker. She would be able to use these skills whether she married, had a roommate, or just made a home for herself. One of the things I went over numbers of times was people's perceptions of raising children. Children don't automatically have a sentimental love for their parents. Parents are a source of security for children. That is how it should be in healthy children. Their parents are like the house, or the food they eat. It is expected and no real thought is given to its existence, and hopefully, there is no fear of not having it. I told my daughter that too many mothers are looking for a loving, dependantly loyal, relationship that they aren't getting from their partner, family members, or their parents. A mother who gets pregnant to get love from a child, or to save their marriage, is going to be disappointed. I call the perspective children have toward their parents the "billboard syndrome." You know that billboard you drive by everyday on your way to work? You might have really read it the first few times, now you might glance at it. If someone asked you what billboards you see, you wouldn't be able to say - it is just part of the landscape that is just there. Children see parents that way. They don't TRULY see their parents until they themselves are parents. Raising children takes a lot of unselfish love, patience, understanding, and ENERGY. For 10 to 18 years, they are your life, but after that, they are so worth the effort. They grow to be best friends. Independent adults with their own lives, opinions, and beliefs. I'm sorry that that woman's husband didn't really understand or find a way to support her. I wonder how he will live with that the rest of his life.

My mother is a grandiose narcissist she would leave my siblings and I (4 of us) at home alone for hours at a time, sometimes without food. She did this to get away from us. People who can’t empathize get so frustrated by the needs of others. I guess she couldn’t take it anymore.

Not only did she send her friend a detailed message but her husband, 3 times, ignored her cry for help. When are people going to speak up?

“She was being really really really horrible to me.” She was two years old. (Edit: Guys, I KNOW toddlers are dicks, believe me. But you can’t take it personally, they literally don’t know any better. And it hardly justifies murder.)

My mom always said if you know you dont want kids please please dont have them

How can you ever just ignore your partner talking about killing your children. Like even if that was done in, idk, a joking manner, that's like. Immediate divorce papers. Can't imagine a redder flag.

Post partum psychosis on top of her issues. She pumped herself with strong hormones to get pregnant, that is bad for your body and so bad for someone with mental health problems. Seems like this all could've been avoided

As someone who went through a psychosis and wanted to harm my family, these cases just make me so sad. I'm so thankful I had intervention and wish everyone had the support I did. I love my family and would never harm them outside of that psychosis

How in the Hell do spouses not understand a crazy spouse's murderous intentions?!

A doctor is a mandatory reporter, meaning that if they become aware that a child is in danger, they are held responsible for not reporting this to child protection or police. I don't know if this applies to a parent regarding their own children, but it's difficult to understand how her husband was not held responsible for being negligent.

"She often thought she was a useless mother." Oh, she is so much worse than useless.

Such a heartbreaking case! Thank you for your careful analysis Dr. Grande!

I am in New Zealand Dr. Grande, this has been a horrible case. Also thank you for pronouncing Timaru correctly.

I am in New Zealand and followed the trial closely. It was noted Ms Dickason had serious problems with depression and post partum depression. It sounded like she had been experiencing this for many years. She had tried to self manage and this included at times self prescription as a physician, which given her mental state would be of concern. There was no mention of serious intervention or psychotherapy involving other physicians. The ignorance or denial of her husband was disturbing. MIQ (Managed Isolation and Quarantine) which was mandatory when the family moved to New Zealand, can be highly stressful as Lauren would be stuck in one room for 14 days with three bored and likely energetic kids. Likely her stress became much worse and her mental state deteriorated. I would also point out that a person can experience a mental illness episode while still having some mental faculty or ability to reason, I think she wasn't "insane" to use the term loosely but she wasn't anywhere near a stable mind. Dr Grande is on the mark pointing out the legal definitions involved, and the grey area between deliberate murder and infanticide that this case is located in. IMO I lean toward infanticide. I also discussed the case with family and a few others and we generally lean toward infanticide. We cannot know what happened in the jury deliberations, I speculate that maybe there was some extensive debate interpreting the evidence into the murder or infanticide definitions, but not being on that jury I should not judge (and having been on a jury in NZ I understand the mandatory processes we must follow and the rules and interpretation limits set by the court, which may have shifted the interpretations).

This husband reminds me of Andrea Yates husband The way he just didn’t listen to her with the postpartum depression. I feel sorry for the babies

My mind reels over cases like these... Bravo to those who decide not to have children because they don't want them or because they know that they suffer from depression and know that they could possibly experience post partem depression. They are totally unselfish.

Psychosis is hard to imagine for those who haven’t experienced it. It really can be like being possessed by a demon that knows everything about you and exactly how to manipulate you. I had my first episode in my 30s and it was soul destroying.

As a mother who suffered with Post partum depression myself... It's real, very real... If you don't have the family/friends support I can see how this can happen to any mother....

When she chose to not take meds for depression I think was a major factor in the court's decision for conviction plus her preplanning of murder on her computer. Also, her husband did not appear to take her condition seriously and paid for that dearly.

I cannot imagine going thru 17 rounds of IVF. My husband and I just met with a reproductive endocrinologist who recommends IVF, but we are still in the testing/figuring out stages. I know healthcare is different in South Africa than in the US but I can’t imagine having that many rounds of IVF or that it was easy to pay for.

Going through so many rounds of IVF and desperately wanting children as well as her being a GP, put her at much higher risk of post partum depression and other mental health illnesses. What an awful outcome for all. No justice. Just despair 😩

The fact she protected the children right up until the day they died isn't that uncommon in cases like this. These cases are more common than many people realise and so often links back to the Mum disguising her depression. There was a recent case in Sydney Australia where a Mum attempted to kill her baby but failed, then stole the baby from hospital at 4am in the morning and went on to kill the baby successfully. The case is yet to go through the courts but it's a really tragic event. More so because the baby was a social media poster baby connected to selling baby clothes online. I'm sure the Dr will cover this case in time.

oh my GOD! This is horrific. Three minutes in and having all the anger feels.

The husband seems to be clueless and detached, almost to a criminally negligent degree.

It seems moving away to another country where she had no help no friends or family for support and a husband that wasnt listening to her warnings all contributed to this awful tragedy, he should have taken her to see a doctor at the first warning she intended to kill the kids, i get the feeling he was too busy living his own life to really deal with the situation he was in with his wife’s mental state, this could have been prevented 😢

She chose to stop taking her antidepressants. She murdered her children because they made her angry, not because the world is dangerous.

I can't stop watching your videos. Please speculate as to why, though it goes without saying it would not be a diagnosis.

Thank you for pronouncing timaru perfectly. Sadly New Zealand has a huge problem with child abuse leading to murder. Our society values are not conducive to happy healthy families. Our youth suicide rate is shameful and is an absolute crisis

This is tragic, sad, and mind boggling. Her husband didn’t take her issues seriously. Rest in peace little ones.

Thank you for your excellent analysis. This trial just occurred in my home town in New Zealand. It has been devastating for the community to hear about these wee ones and how they lost their lives. At the same time, she seems a shadow of a normal person. I was shocked that she was found guilty of murder as she just doesn’t seem at all well still.

I was disturbed by the highly sympathetic tone towards her in the press here in NZ. It was very strange and in stark contrast to the tone used for other child killers.

This is beyond sad and tragic 😥. Why are not more mental health interventions available or executed so these types of tragedies do NOT occur?!

It is an extremely sad case. This person had pre-existing mental health issues. She lost her first baby, then underwent SEVENTEEN rounds of IVF, to have her other babies. Then she moved to a foreign country, in the middle of a pandemic, stopped her antidepressants (as it would affect her immigration status) moved away from all her support networks (including parents, siblings & friends) It was clearly a recipe for disaster ! And did anyone mention she had no biological connection to those children? Be careful what you wish for....

Committing an obvious triple murder is not the best way to become "free". Her husband needs a smackdown as well. He asks her "Do you know how crazy you sound?" without grasping that knowledge himself.

Being told, 3 times, by the mother of your children that she plans/thinks to kill the children. And not trying to get help or involve some sort of authority in the situation… the husband is not innocent. 😣

Seems the husband missed several opportunities to address her mental health and protect the children but didn't know what to do. Obviously he didn't take her repeated threats of harming the children seriously.

What a bunch group of beautiful children; when you showed that picture of those kids brought a smile to my entire body. I listened some to the story but it was too disgusting for words. I was a physician I knew to always take ANY MENTION OF SUICIDE OR HARM TO OTHERS SUPER SERIOUSLY. How sad.

This is a tragic case. However, Lauren and her husband were intelligent highly qualified medical people, so it is unthinkable that they didn't know there was a major problem. Lauren's husband should never have left her alone with the children, especially in a new country, without adult supervision, under the circumstances. It seems both of the parents just buried their heads in the sand, were reluctant to acknowledge the obvious, and carried on as though everything was normal, when it was not. This was sadly, a tragedy waiting to happen. 🇳🇿

Great Analysis Dr. Grande. Such a tragic situation and I agree the clinician’s will never know the exact cause of her actions. There’s so many variables to this medical/psychological case, starting with going through 17 IVF”s is unbelievable, I have a friend who went through two any she was both so very sick physically and mentally from just going through those treatments. It’s a tremendous amount on a human body. Bless those sweet baby girls, it’s truly heartbreaking.

she should have just hired a baby sitter and let the babysitter deal with the kids if she's that stressed. I can't believe she wanted kids but can't even mitigate the side effects of having them. the husband was stupid to dismiss her concerns. I can't even pity him.

This is so similar to the Andrea Yates case here in the U.S.. She murdered her five children after a similar health history while her husband turned a blind eye to her difficulties. He should have been arrested as well.

I don't know the technicalities of IVF. But as the husband of this woman I would have suggested that maybe after having a first child it would be wise to stop having more or at least wait some time to find out how things are working out with one child. This guy seems to have been more interested in his career than in the wellbeing of his family. As a doctor he should have seen that his wife had serious mental issues and the two of them should have adressed those together first before embarking on the IVF ordeal. His disregard for his family is also shown by his behavior the day his wife killed her children. He went out with colleagues to have dinner and left his wife at home with the kids. And this two weeks after getting out of quarantaine in a new country on the other side of the world.

I’m thinking that she was trying so desperately to have children to solve her mental health issues. Nowhere is it mentioned the amount of mood swings come with IVF. This story is so sad.

She had a night nanny AND a day nanny at home in South Africa despite not working. She was not followed up by a psychiatrist after coming off her meds. Of course she was not going to cope. Yes she murdered them, but those children were also let down by a wider network.

This is so troubling. Motherhood is alot of things. To bad this family could not afford some help to relieve Lauren of many of her stressors and she had alot. Please everyone reach out to mother's and offer your support and kind caring.

It seems to me like she was in love with the idea of having children but didn’t realize the amount of time, energy, and effort it takes to care for a raise children that all have their own unique personalities, interests, needs, etc. This is such a heartbreaking case but I do agree with the jury’s verdict.

I don't understand why infanticide is a possible lesser charge for killing any child under 10 years of age. I understand postpartum depression but have never heard of it lasting for that long. It's shocking just how much children are undervalued in this world. And if a person stops taking their medication, they are responsible for their actions.

Such an unthinkable tragedy. May those babies rest in peace, and the husband be able to forgive himself for not stepping in to protect them

Lauren was clearly very unwell. That absolutely does not excuse her actions. What she did was horrific and wrong but how many ways/times could she tell people she was having these thoughts for them just to be ignored?! I absolutely can't get my head around this husband being told three times and him doing nothing! 🤯 such a tragic tale

I think her husband and the people to whom she disclosed a killing idea and didn't do anything about it are responsible as well. She had been diagnosed with a mental disease. The severity of her mental issues was not taken seriously. Too sad for her innocent children.

This happened in a town 2 hours from where I live. I had wondered if the isolation in a hotel with small children when arriving in New Zealand for a week also contributed to the feelings of this lady with no Nannie’s to help look after 3 very active small children. That would have been very difficult as the isolation rooms were tiny and limited outdoor activities that had to be booked in daily exercise

I don't have children myself, so I will defer to actual mothers, but I have noticed throughout my life that women who struggle and fight the hardest to have children tend to be more likely to come apart once the children are here. Even as a child, I recall there was a woman in our church that adopted a toddler after years of infertility. She ended up having to be committed once she finally got the little girl. In the long run, things worked out, but she had what everybody called "a nervous breakdown because she didn't know what she was doing." I have seen this repeatedly with women who fight infertility and women who have repeated miscarriages. It is like they finally get the baby, and they have this glorious idealized version of motherhood, and what they get is the reality, it is really, really hard work. I had a coworker that was raised by her grandparents. The only explanation she ever got, was that her mama tried for 10 years for a baby, then she got one. After 18 months they dropped her off at her grandparents and they were going to CA for a month so they "could take a break." They didn't come back for 6 years, and never took her back as a daughter. My coworker said her parents treated her like you would a much younger little sister. This isn't true of all women who struggle for a successful pregnancy. It is just a pattern I have noticed.

Her so-called "physician" husband is equally culpable for his ineptitude and apathy. She didn't do this in secret, she left breadcrumbs all the way to her ultimate actions. 💔💔💔💔

Anyone doing 17 rounds of IVF cannot be mentally sound.

So tragic, after working so hard to get the babies (numerous IVF), to then kill them!

Her lawyers came up with every possible defense out there. In what world is New Zealand more dangerous than SA?

Can never ignore a parent making statements like she did 😢

I think she thought having children was going to take away her depressed life and she would go on to live happily ever after, but reality soon hit and having children added to her instability instead of making her stable. Her husband from Dr. Grande’s description didn’t help at all and may have been part of the problem. He obviously didn’t take her seriously and loosing his children was the result. It seems all this could’ve been avoided if they sought proper help. Being doctors, they should have known better. She definitely had a demon on her shoulders in the end.

Postpartum depression and psychosis.

What is it going to take before people start taking these threats seriously? I feel her husband bears almost as much responsibility as his wife for not protecting their children.

I’m an RN. I have depression. I had post-partum depression after my fourth kid but it was mild. I also had secondary infertility; didn’t do IVF but the shots & pills. I can’t imagine doing what she did.

I think ol' Graham needs to be facing some charges too. Wtf does he mean he didn't take his wife seriously about killing the kids. So what, he took it as a joke? Cause if my husband said something like that I'm leaving with the kids that day and filing for an emergency custody order and protective order. She said this for years and he continued leaving them alone with her. That's unacceptable! That should be child neglect and child engagement on his part. If she didn't want to be a mother anymore why didn't she just get a divorce and leave. Plus she "tried" to kill herself afterwards. How convenient that killing her children was successful but not when it came to herself. If she was gonna kill herself anyway then why kill her kids. That's ridiculous. She said she felt no connection to God... I don't think she'll be connecting with him now either. Maybe she should have sought God and her mindset would have been better. She def shouldn't have stopped her meds. This is a tragedy that could have been prevented. How unfortunate.

Thank you Dr Grande. Haven't seen it yet but I've worked in the medical field, and met many crazy, sociopathic Drs. 😱 Don't get me started about the nurses!!

If your Mrs ever says “I feel like killing the kids love”, that’s your que to get away from that toxic kid killing partner like yesterday!

I have never heard of more out of touch physicians in my entire life or career as a nurse. I mean she said she was going to kill them and her husband said, you sound crazy and ignored it.

Living in nz and studying clinical psychology i was closely following this case and i agree with the verdict 100% She is devouring mother: didnt see children separate from her and punished them by taking their lifes. She was found fit to stand the trail and never showed signs of psychosis. However, she had resentment towards children, especially Karla (the one who was murdered first), all children were not biologically hers (donor's), in SA she hasnt practiced since having children and had day nunny and night nunny on top of family support. lauren said she didn't want children to have another mother if she would kill herself, hence she felt a need to murder them. While killing, she was checking their vitals to make sure they are dead. The defence played on "how could you kill choldren in your right mind, only insane people do this". I believe she had a depression. But having depression, even sever ppd, does not make the one a murderer

Rolling into NZ from South Africa, thinking it's _more dangerous._ Yeah, ok.

What a piece of work. I cry for those who would do ANYTHING to have even one child. I feel sorry for those who will never know the joy of children. She got what she wished for and then destroyed her healthy children.

Thank you, Dr Grande. This happened in the town we used to go for holidays as children and has affected many of us.

Hello and thank you, Dr. Grande, for the respectful and IMHO adequate summary of this heartbreaking case.This hit home on many levels, and I have to say "There but for the grace of God...". - Post partum depression is real, and every affected woman lives through it differently. Speaking from experience, medical professionals (especially in the psychiatric field, but also elsewhere) tend to think that when they can treat their patients correctly, then they will succeed also in treating themselves (often, but not always hybris). I can relate to her self medication, this is a common practise for doctors. - An aggravating factor: certain traits of type A personalities (I surmise that LD is one) are advantageous for a successful graduation as a physician. Leaving the job to become a housewife and mother with three demanding children is f**king anticlimactic, as not meeting your own expectations can drive you absolutely nuts, because the innate type A claim to perfection is thwarted at every corner. - Additionally there is still a pronounced stigma hovering over mental health issues, and in some jurisdictions one can lose their approbation when diagnosed positively, so there were good causes for the path that LD chose. The medication can have severe side effects. In case of intolerance the amount of the drugs must in most cases be in- and decreased very slowly. This process is pain- and stressful in itself for sensitive patients -> imminent non-compliance possible. - But now to the IMHO whopper: seventeen (!) cycles of IVF with all the necessary highly dosed hormones and/ or additional immunosuppressive medication is TORTURE!!! To my knowledge the side effects of the treatments and the complicated surrounding conditions are extremely stressfull and demanding, which is why TMK the amount of cycles is usually restricted to 4 to 6 in Germany (if not, please correct me). I am of the opinion that the mandatory continuous non-physiologically high hormone levels could have permanently altered the brain chemistry of LD, so that her fragile mental health status became even more unbalanced than before . If LD suffered from MH issues since her mid-teens, the prognosis was not good in the first place, and she should not have had even one child for the sake of her own mental health, and ultimately for the lives of her three girls, who paid the price for the selfishness of their parents

Why would you not take your wife seriously when she says she's been thinking of killing children. She needed serious mental health intervention and this man let her drown in her postpartum depression and downplayed her cries for help. I wish she would have had the presence of mind to just flee the house before making that decision. Poor kiddos. No sympathy for that husband. Hope he stays alone and doesn't eff up anyone else's life.

Depressed or not....Killing your children is the most evil thing any mother could ever do...She planned out the whole thing...She deserves Life in Prison....

Again and again and again, people just don't know what to think about mental health problems or how to take them seriously. The husband in this case had no idea.

These two issues (unconfirmed) are also of interest: 1) Apparently she was not the biological mother of the twins; her sister had donated her own eggs. Could this have led her to feeling distant from them (she describes never having felt a motherly bond with her kids). 2) I heard that the day she committed the murders, she had received a query from NZ immigration about contradictory info in her health records, so she may have panicked that her lie had been discovered and they would have to return to SA. In my mind that is not the end of the world, but in the mind of a highly disturbed person it might have been intolerable for her to consider returning to a place she considered dangerous.

First she went to a lot of trouble to have kids. Then she got PPD. She didn’t want to move, and the last straw her husband ignored her feelings. She was clearly sick. He’s guilty to.

Another heartbreaking story of mental illness in a mother. So very sorry for all involved. I wish it were more recognized so that the mothers can be helped before they harm themselves or their children. So frustrating that even her physician husband didn't recognize the danger her mental state put the children in.

Thanks for covering this. As someone from NZ, I was shocked about this case when it happened. It's not often horrific crimes like this happen in our country, especially in a small friendly town like Timaru.

I live in New Zealand . This case is on everyone's mind . Horrific , she was found guilty , she certainly killed ,but she's not the only person responsible imo

Such beautiful little girls and such a heartbreaking story 💙. The fact that Lauren thought New Zealand was more "dangerous" than South Africa shows how insane she had become! I think the writing was clearly on the wall what was going to happen if she didn't get urgent inpatient psychiatric care. It sounds like she tried to reach out for help from her husband and blatantly confessed in detail what direction her dark urges were taking her..

Im a New Zealander and this case has been followed quite closely in the papers. Its a tricky one, she was definitely not in her right mind, but to what extent how is it possible to say? One factor not detailed was the nature of quarantine. The family was confined to a small space in a hotel for two weeks with only one outside break per day, I think it was half an hour or something. Often it would be a small space in the hotel carpark. That would be challenging for any parent. She killed them just days after being released from quarantine. If she was already dangerously disturbed that experience couldn't have helped.

Thanks for all the great videos every day, Dr. Grande.❤ They’re all interesting and informative. ❤ I also find them calming and entertaining. Thank you so much!

As a perinatal psychiatrist this is one of the saddest cases I've heard. Lives lost due in part to stigma, lack of knowledge and a failure of the health care system

If accurate, she suffered from mental health issues since adolescence. It's as though she was looking for approval and success by working had and becoming a doctor. When that failed to "fix" her, she thought marriage may be the answer. When that didn't work, she may have thought having children would give her the happiness and fulfillment she was lacking. When it became apparent that nothing was going to make her better, murder was the only absolute action to erase everything. I truly pity her, but I think because her mental health status gave her this poor thought process it shouldn't give her a pass. She's dangerous to herself and others. The father of the children failed in every way possible to protect his children. He should face charges, too. Not murder, but some accountability for his negligence.

She was a physician and knew or should've known the risks of going off psych meds & postpartum. Also, SEVENTEEN rounds of IVF? I've never heard of a person having more than 2 or 3. She'll likely be dead of breast/ovarian/bowel cancer before long.

How horrible im doing everything in life to make sure my 3 kids have everything in life. Those poor babies 😢 RIP so sad

Interesting, informative, gentlemanly, and constructive = ty for intelligent, calm overview of cases.