Lauren Dickason was found guilty on three counts of murder in the High Court in Christchurch on 16 August, 2023. Photo: Pool / NZ Herald / George Heard
Convicted triple-murderer Lauren Dickason has been served with a deportation order that will take effect upon her release from prison.
Dickason, 43, was jailed for 18 years in June after a Christchurch High Court jury found her guilty of murdering her twin girls Maya and Karla, 2, and their older sister Liané, 6, in Timaru in 2021.
She smothered the children in their beds three weeks after the family had arrived from South Africa but claimed she was so mentally unwell she could not be held criminally responsible for their deaths.
On Tuesday, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment national compliance manager Fadia Mudafar confirmed Dickason had been served with the deportation order.
"Immigration New Zealand plans to proceed with her deportation upon completion of her sentence. However, as with all deportations following release from prison, her situation will be assessed before the deportation takes place," she said.
Dickason's legal team mounted a defence based on insanity and infanticide but the jury found that she had murdered her daughters.
She was initially sentenced to an in-patient care and treatment unit as a special patient because of her mental condition, in accordance with the Mental Health Compulsory Assessment and Treatment Act.
Dickason is appealing her conviction.
Dickason will be eligible to be considered for parole in September 2027.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
