Advertisement

Mystery deepens as nanny of three murdered girls speaks out

Neighbours and friends of the woman who allegedly murdered her three daughters in their New Zealand home have spoken out amid the tragedy.

Twin sisters Maya and Karla, aged two, and Liane, aged six, were found dead at a home in Timaru, on New Zealand’s South Island on Thursday night.

The girl's mother, Lauren Dickason, has been charged with murder and appeared in court on Saturday.

Graham and Lauren Dickson with Maya and Karla, 2, and Liane, 6. Source: Facebook
Graham and Lauren Dickson with Maya and Karla, 2, and Liane, 6. Source: Facebook

The family had recently moved from South Africa to New Zealand in August and had finished the mandatory two-week stay in hotel quarantine the week before.

“The investigation into this tragedy is still in its very early stages, but we can confirm that nobody else is being sought in relation to the deaths of the three children,” New Zealand police said in a statement.

“Police would like to reassure the community that this was a tragic isolated incident and we are not seeking anyone else,” read a separate statement.

Mandy Sibanyoni, who worked as a nanny for the Dickason family in South Africa, said they were no obvious problems within the family, when she worked for them, describing them as an “awesome family” with “wonderful kids”.

Maya and Karla, aged two, and Liane, six were found dead in their New Zealand home. Source: Facebook
Maya and Karla, aged two, and Liane, six were found dead in their New Zealand home. Source: Facebook

According to Ms Sibayoni, the only sign of “stress” she saw from Ms Dickason was around one of her daughters who was born with a lip disfigurement which required surgery.

The couple “loved their kids like nobody’s business," Ms Sibayoni said.

“I’m torn apart, a part of mine is gone,” she told The Associated Press in Pretoria, South Africa.

“And it’s like those kids, they are my kids too because I raised them.

“I don’t know what to do about this because the only question that I’ve got now is, what happened? What went wrong? Because Lauren cared for her kids.”

The heartbreaking comments come as mystery surrounds the motive behind the shocking crime.

Community in shock over tragedy

Neighbours Karen and Brad Cowper called police when they heard a man screaming and crying, Stuff.co.nz reported.

The neighbours said they asked the man if he was okay but he didn’t respond other than to say: “Is this really happening?”

The girl's father, Graham Dickason, an orthopaedic surgeon, reportedly returned home from work and found their bodies, with neighbour's saying they heard a man "crying hysterically" outside the property saying "is this really happening?" before police arrived.

"We asked him if he was okay. He did not respond to us and was screaming and crying hysterically," neighbour Karen Cowper told Stuff.

Ms Dickason's colleague and neighbour from South Africa, Natasja le Roux, told local media that she “cannot comprehend what happened”.

“[Lauren] is a medical doctor and she wasn’t arrogant or anything like that,” Ms le Roux said, adding the couple had struggled to conceive.

Another neighbour said "something doesn't add up" and both parents "adored" their children.

"We don’t know what happened. There is not a lot of information, but they are kind people."

Ms Dickason is to appear in court again on October 5.

with AAP

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.