A psychologist giving evidence for the defence in the Lauren Dickason murder trial said her deleted internet searches didn't alter his opinion.
Ghazi Metoui, who took to the witness stand yesterday, is the third defence expert to tell the trial at the High Court at Christchurch the 42-year-old can rely on the defences of infanticide and insanity, as her lawyers are arguing.
The jury's previously heard how the mother of Liane, Maya and Karla had looked up a number methods to kill the girls, including how to overdose children and the lethal doses of certain drugs.
The defendant didn't tell Metoui about the searches but after he found out, he went back to meet with her. He asked Dickason why she had cleared the history from her phone.
He said she told him "her habit was to clear her search history every night, as well as various messages".
"She stated, 'it was one of my OCD things I'd do before going to bed' and she denied it was to conceal her searches from others."
He admitted "I mistakenly neglected to inquire about whether she did deliberately delete those searches concerning overdosing her children or killing herself in order conceal them from Graham".
The psychologist believed she was likely being secretive.
"I do not consider these internet searches on a balance of probabilities as necessarily indicative of Ms Dickason actively planning and plotting to kill her children per se. Rather they reflect to me that Ms Dickason was likely grappling with filicidal thoughts that she was finding increasingly difficult to control and suppress.
"I do not consider the relevant internet searches as providing me cause to alter my formulation this case."
Crown lawyers have begun cross-examining Metoui, who is the final witness of the trial.
By Lisa Davies and Laura James
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