Physician Commits Unthinkable Crime | Lauren Dickason Case Analysis

well this is Dr Grande today's question is can I analyze the case of Lauren Dickerson just a reminder I'm not diagnosing You by this video only speculating about what could be happening in a situation like this if you enjoyed this video please like it subscribe to my channel and consider supporting me on patreon I'll put the link to patreon in the description for this video first I'll look at the background of this case move to the timeline of the crime then offer my analysis Lauren Ann Dickerson was a physician from South Africa she was a general practitioner sometime around 2006 Lauren married a man named Graham he was also a physician specifically and orthopedic surgeon Lauren desperately wanted to have children but ran into medical difficulties in January 2013 she had a miscarriage after this Lauren went through 17 rounds of IVF in order to get pregnant in 2014 she had a daughter named Leanne in 2018 Lauren had twin daughters Maya and Carla in 2021 Lauren's husband Graham was offered a job at a hospital in Timaru New Zealand Lauren was not excited about relocating she was already under a lot of stress from the covid-19 lockdown and civil unrest in South Africa now she would have to contend with a move to a new home in New Zealand and these strict immigration requirements of that country despite her reservations the relocation went forward now moving to the timeline of the crime in late August 2021 the Dickinson family moved from South Africa to New Zealand after arriving the family spent 14 days in a managed isolation and quarantine facility they left the facility on September 11th on September 16 2021 Lauren's husband Graham went to a dinner with work colleagues 20 minutes after he left the residence Lauren retrieved zip ties from the garage she gathered her three daughters into a bedroom telling them that they were going to make necklaces after stringing the zip ties together to make them long enough Lauren wrapped them around the necks of her children her intent was To Kill after realizing that her efforts were insufficient to cause death Lauren smothered them with a towel one by one she started with two-year-old Carla moved to six-year-old Leanne then killed two-year-old Maya Lauren put her children into their beds along with their favorite toys before attempting to bring harm to herself with pills and a knife at around 10 pm Graham returned home and discovered what Lauren had done he notified the authorities the police interviewed Lauren she told them that her children were being wild again and not listening this is why she used the zip ties Lauren explained how she had been thinking about it for a while and just wanted to be free Lauren was charged with three counts of murder and sent to a mental health treatment facility in June of 2023 Lauren pleaded Not Guilty by reason of insanity her trial started on July 17 on August 16 2023 Lauren Dickinson was found guilty on three counts of murder the jury voted 11-1 for guilty which is good enough for a conviction under New Zealand law Lauren is facing up to life in prison when she is sentenced now moving to my analysis before weighing the evidence in this case I will offer my thoughts on a few areas that stood out to me item number one Lauren had a long history of mental health symptoms including depression and anxiety she had been depressed since the age of 15. Lauren also had postpartum depression after each pregnancy when Lauren's oldest daughter Leanne was very young Lauren sought help from a mental health clinician regarding traumatic memories Lauren was described as perfectionistic and self-critical she often thought of herself as a useless mother item number two on three different occasions Lauren told her husband Graham that she was having thoughts about killing the children the first time she introduced this idea was in May of 2019 the second time was in July of 2021 and the third time was right before the family moved to New Zealand Lauren even mentioned specific methods of homicide like sleeping pills Graham did not appear to take his wife's statement seriously he also did not appear to be particularly supportive of her mental health symptoms for example Graham allegedly said to Lauren quote do you know how crazy you sound we're emigrating to New Zealand in 13 days unquote Graham thought that by moving to New Zealand he was pulling Lauren away from everything that was causing her stress multiple people including Lauren's mother had concerns about Lawrence mental health prior to the relocation Lauren was described as distant not being a nurturing mother and not being in a good place in the months leading up to the move after the murders when Graham returned to South Africa he found zip ties strung together in a closet item number three in March of 2021 Lauren stopped taking antidepressant medication because she thought it would be viewed more favorably by immigration officials in New Zealand in July 2021 she started taking self-prescribed medication for depression and anxiety evidently she was able to prescribe herself medications in South Africa item number four after moving to New Zealand Lauren's mental health symptoms appeared to get worse she would later tell mental health clinicians that she felt no connection to God or her surroundings instead she felt a demonic presence on one particular day a few weeks before the killings Lauren felt as though there was a devil on her shoulder she believed that a seed was planted that day Lauren searched the Internet for ways to kill her children prior to the homicides item number five less than 24 hours before the homicides Lauren sent a message to a friend saying that her children were being wild cheeky and disobedient they were driving her crazy and she wanted to divorce them Lauren explained to the police why she killed her daughter Carla first by saying quote she was being really really really horrible to me lately she's been biting me and hitting me and scratching me and throwing Tantrums 24 hours a day and I just don't know how to manage that that's why I did her first unquote this makes it seem as though Lauren was angry and that could have been the motive for the homicides item number six Lauren attempted to use the insanity defense to avoid being convicted of murder in New Zealand using this tactic place the burden on Lauren's defense to prove on the balance of probabilities that Lauren was insane at the time of the homicides in order for the jury to return a verdict of Not Guilty by reason of insanity they must be satisfied that two conditions existed one Lauren was suffering from a disease of the mind at the time she killed her children two Lauren was so affected by that disease of the Mind either she did not understand the nature and quality of her actions or she did not know her actions were morally wrong five possible verdicts were available to the jury guilty of murder guilty of the Lesser charge of infanticide not guilty Act of murder-proven But Not Guilty by reason of insanity and act of infanticide proven But Not Guilty by reason of insanity in New Zealand the Lesser charge of infanticide has a specific legal meaning it is when a female defendant is not held fully responsible for killing a child under 10 years of age because her mind was Disturbed from the effects of childbirth or any disorder caused by childbirth it carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison as I mentioned the jury selected guilty of murder as their verdict now moving to the next section was Lauren actually guilty of murder the crown argued that Lauren knew that her behavior was morally wrong in addition she acted methodically and with a purpose Lauren was angry at her children due to their bad behavior as far as her mental health status the crown claimed that Lauren largely recovered from her postpartum depression by late 2020 or early 2021 it was only a minimal contributor to the killings the defense argued that Lauren wasn't a major depressive episode and psychotic when she committed the homicides she thought that New Zealand was a dangerous place and she thought the whole world was dangerous she carried out the homicides because she wanted to spare her children suffering she believed her behavior was altruistic with this in mind let's take a look at the evidence both for and against the idea that Lauren was guilty starting with the inculpatory factors there is no question that Lauren caused the death of her three children she admitted that she was the Killer Lauren had homicidal thoughts as early as May of 2019 but did not take appropriate actions to prevent a negative outcome she stopped taking medication that may have helped her to manage her depressive symptoms only to self-prescribe medications later prior to the killings Lawrence searched the internet for homicidal methods on the day of the killings Lauren waited for her husband Graham to leave before proceeding with her Grim task this makes it seem as though Lauren understood that her behavior was wrong a mental health clinician testifying for the crown admitted that Lauren was Disturbed but said that she was not Disturbed to such an extent that she would fail to recognize the difference between right and wrong another crowned mental health professional testified that Lauren's postpartum depression was in remission at the time of the homicides Lauren denied that she was having hallucinations or delusions her homicidal Behavior represented a complex task which required a high level of organization and functioning this is inconsistent with being psychotic based on Lauren's Communications there was a recurring theme of being angry at her children she admitted to the police that the order of the killings was based on her anger moving to the exculpatory factors Lauren desperately wanted to have children and worked diligently to achieve that goal she had a long history of depression and anxiety including postpartum depression even one of the crown mental health professionals admitted that Lauren may not have been in full remission from the depression at the time of the homicides Lauren did not attempt to escape responsibility for the killings after her husband discovered the bodies she fully cooperated with investigators Warren did not achieve any material gain by committing the homicides three mental health professionals testified for the defense one stated that Lauren was experiencing postpartum depression with psychosis a second clinician testified that Lauren did not have a full remission from the depression and her condition deteriorated in the year leading up to the homicides a third clinician believed that Lauren's postpartum depression was chronic and severe Lauren denied having hallucinations and delusions but she was not a mental health professional and a person could not diagnose themselves even if they are Lauren claimed that her attack was impulsive and disorganized she had an out-of-body experience and felt like she was floating above the scene and she mentioned demons one could argue that those descriptions are consistent with someone who is separated from reality when considering all the evidence do I believe that Lauren Dickerson was guilty of murder this case Glides on a Razor's Edge between guilt and innocence there is no clear-cut answer either way in my opinion Lauren was not guilty of murder but was guilty of infanticide as defined under New Zealand law rence appeared to have postpartum depression for example she had irritability mood swings feelings of inadequacy anxiety and a negative self View I do not think that Lauren would have committed the homicides if she did not have the postpartum depression this would qualify her as having a disturbed mind she did not qualify for Insanity because she understood the nature and quality of her actions and recognized the difference between right and wrong unlike similar cases where the perpetrators did not have much support Lauren had plenty of resources she was almost certainly not psychotic the entire time between when she first experienced homicidal ideations and when she committed the homicides she had plenty of opportunity to get treated by mental health professionals and to be compliant with their recommendations Lauren made a series of poor decisions that contributed to This Disaster now moving to my final thoughts Lauren's Behavior was so unusual unexpected and egregious that it naturally invoked a mental health defense the reality of cases like this is there is no way to know for certain as unimaginable as it may be it's possible that Lauren killed because she simply wanted to escape her own pain she knew what she was doing and she followed through with her plan an accurate mental health assessment is almost impossible in criminal cases through no fault of the clinicians it is simply the reality of the mental health Psychotherapy fields this means that with these types of cases the actual motive will forever remain a mystery those are my thoughts on the case of Lauren Dickerson please put any opinions and thoughts in the comment section they always generate an interesting dialogue as always I hope you found my analysis of this topic to be informative thanks for watching

Channel: Dr. Todd Grande

Views: 189,931

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Id: re_evH9GkYE

Length: 15min 9sec (909 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 21 2023