The Crown has continued to cross-examine defence forensic psychiatrist Dr Justin Barry-Walsh, who interviewed Lauren Dickason four times after she killed her daughters in Timaru in September 2021.
The first interview was three weeks after the deaths, the final one in May this year.
He told the jury it was his opinion the defences of infanticide and insanity are available to the murder accused.
Crown prosecutor Andrew McRae asked Barry-Walsh about his position that Dickason hadn’t been in remission from postpartum depression prior to the killings of Liane, Maya and Karla.
He pointed out that in early 2021 "she reported that her mental health remained well, that she was very happy with her family life, saying that she recalled feeling at that time that her relationship with (husband) Graham was the best it had been for a long time and she was immensely enjoying her children".
"She reported life was better - 'I felt euphoric in a way?'"
The expert replied “yes, I recall that".
However, the expert maintained that although there was some recovery, it was not to the degree that would meet the test for “fully recovered”.
He said she had persisting symptoms, and a combination of being off her antidepressants and a large number of stressors meant it her postpartum depression worsened drastically.
McRae also questioning him about his assertion that Dickason didn’t kill her girls out of anger.
He put to him that “everybody who hears this case will look at this and go, 'how could this happen?'"
He replied “yes".
McRae continued: ”The concept of an angry mother just killing her children is not an easy one to get your head around is it?”
The psychiatrist replied “well I'm not sure about that".
"We've seen a lot of children killed by mothers and fathers, where it has been a product of abuse and maltreatment, and anger is prominent in those.”
The defence maintain Dickason killed her children out of love, but the Crown case is that she killed them in a selfish act of anger and control.
McRae read out a series of texts indicating anger towards her children that she sent to her friends.
“She makes me so angry one day I’m afraid one day I will smack her too hard”, “I can't anymore, I’m afraid I’m going to take out my whole family if they announce this tonight (in reference to a Covid lockdown announcement)."
McRae then stated those texts alongside portions of the police interview, where she talked about how her anger to the children was significant.
“We know she was angry at the point where this happened don't we?"
The expert replied “no I’m not satisfied with that, we know at times she was angry".
"Anger was not a prominent aspect of her mental state when she spoke to me.”
The Crown prosecutor asked: “Another view is that it takes anger to kill them in that manner, isn't it?”
The expert replied it was the act of a woman who was very depressed, “she decided she had to die, and she decided that her children needed to die with her".
In his view it was the only “plausible explanation for how she could have acted in the way in which she did".
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