Lauren Dickason thanks supporters for their 'love' during 'difficult time', reveals she sleeps with teddy bears made with kids clothing

Lauren Dickason has penned a letter to her growing number of supporters, thanking them for "your love" during a "difficult period". 

The letter revealed she sleeps with three teddy bears made from her daughters' clothing. 

A High Court jury found Dickason guilty of murder on August 16 following a month-long trial in Christchurch and she will be sentenced on December 19.   

The high-profile case was centred around the tragic loss of three young children - six-year-old Liané and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla.  

Dickason, a doctor from South Africa, had not long moved to Timaru with her family when she murdered her little girls.  

She admitted to killing the girls by smothering them to death but pleaded not guilty to murder. Her lawyers argued the defence of insanity and infanticide. Ultimately, the jury delivered a majority verdict of guilty of murder for each child.  

According to The Post, Dickinson has now penned a letter to her supporters, saying she has been going through a "difficult time".   

She penned the letter after she received a package from her 1500-strong group of supporters, which included a peace lily plant and edible goods from a South African shop in Christchurch to mark the two-year anniversary of the children's death.   

"Thank you to everybody for your love and support during this difficult time," the letter reads.  

Dickinson also sent the group a painting of sunflowers and three teddy bears with the children's names embroidered on them.   

"There are also bears that were made with the children's clothing and have their names embroidered on the feet," she wrote. 

"I sleep with them at night, to hold them close and remember all the wonderful cuddles my girls used to give me." 

The letter is signed with a love heart and "Lauren xxx".  

The Post reports the sunflower has become a symbol for the group, with members sharing photographs of them planting the flower in support of Dickason.  

It comes as a protest has been planned ahead of the sentencing day in support of the killer mum.   

More than 1000 people have joined a Facebook page called "Support Lauren Dickason" where a protest is being organised in Christchurch in November.   

Local media have reported Dickason's father is a member of the group.   

A petition with more than 1300 signatures has also been launched in the wake of Dickason's conviction. It urges Justice Cameron Mander to consider the plight of women who suffer from post-partum depression and its presence as a "public health crisis" in his sentencing.   

"This petition urges that post-partum depression be acknowledged in the legal profession as an urgent public health issue that needs to be addressed. We plead with High Court Judge Cameron Mander to consider this in his sentencing of Lauren.   

"We appeal for wisdom, humanity and compassion in her sentencing," the petition spear-headed by Tanya Parker said.   

Some of those who had signed the petition left comments in support of Dickason and acknowledged the mental health struggles she went through.   

"Having sat through much of Lauren Dickason's trial, it is my opinion that she has been the victim of a huge miscarriage of justice," one person wrote.  

Since her conviction, Dickason has been remanded to a hospital psychiatric unit. Justice Mander has requested expert reports about her mental health and psychiatric care before she is sentenced.   

It took the jury 15 hours to decide the 42-year-old mum murdered her three children. They reached a majority verdict of 11-to-one after they could not come to a unanimous decision.   

Dickason's lawyers argued the defence of insanity or infanticide. The Crown refuted this, arguing while she was suffering from a depressive episode it was not caused by childbirth or any consequence arising from childbirth.   

In not accepting the defence's argument, the jury determined Lauren was capable of knowing at the time of the offence that killing her children was morally wrong. It also means the jury found Lauren's mind was not disturbed because of childbirth to such an extent that she should not be held fully responsible.   

However, after her conviction, Dickason's parents - who sat through every day of her trial - released a statement on behalf of their family encouraging others to be aware of the symptoms of post-partum depression.   

"This was not our daughter, but a debilitating mental illness which resulted in an awful tragedy, the details of which you are by now well aware," they wrote.   

"Our beloved Lianè, Karla and Maya were taken from this life to another as a result of this crippling disease."