The father of the three little girls allegedly murdered by their mother Lauren Dickason has been cross examined by her defence team.
On day three of the trial, Graham Dickason continued to give evidence via video link from Pretoria, South Africa.
Lauren Dickason killed their three daughters in September 2021. She has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges, and is using a defence of insanity and infanticide.
"I want to start by acknowledging your loss Mr Dickason, and how difficult the evidence has been for you yesterday and might be today," defence lawyer Anne Toohey said.
"Thank you," Graham Dickason replied.
Toohey continued: "It is not the defence case you are to blame in any respect for what happened, or the defence case that you should have done anything differently."
Once again he replied thank you.
Graham Dickason was asked about their long and stressful fertility battle, multiple rounds of IVF, including the stillbirth of their baby Sarah at just 18 weeks gestation. Because the baby was under 20 weeks, it was treated as a miscarriage.
"The baby was taken away and effectively treated as medical waste so that there was no opportunity for you to have the baby to take home, and have a funeral or a ceremony.... that was something that was extremely upsetting to Lauren?," Toohey asked.
"Definitely, for the both of us," he replied.
He was asked if he recalled Lauren crying every day for two months after they lost Sarah. "Yes that was a very difficult time for her, I remember that," he said.
After this time, they decided to use donor eggs in the next rounds of IVF, which led to the birth of their daughter Liané.
Following a difficult and stressful pregnancy, in 2015 she saw a psychiatrist who diagnosed her formally with major depressive disorder, post-partum depression and anxiety.
Lauren Dickason, who is sitting behind her defence lawyers in court, became deeply emotional when her lawyer read a text from Graham to her in Easter 2021 about their girls. It said: "Thank you for looking after them so well… you are a wonderful mother… I love you."
Toohey then asked him about his statement in the two-hour and 50 minute police video that was played yesterday. "That obviously was an interview that was taken in the middle of the night after what I'm sure was the worst night of your life.
"In that interview, you told police that Lauren wasn't a nurturing mother.... was that something that you said on the night in the worst of circumstances, that perhaps isn't correct in terms of your own view of Lauren's mothering?"
"Definitely, yes. As you say, that was a very confusing moment in my life and I think at most, if I think back about making that statement I was probably referring to the most recent times... but not as Lauren, not as a whole of our parenting together."
"There's no question in your mind that she absolutely loved those girls?" Toohey asked.
"No question in my mind at all," Graham Dickason replied.
"She never hurt them, never abused them?" Toohey said.
"Never abused them," Graham Dickason replied.
His cross examination continues in the three week murder trial.
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