UPDATE: Nanny talks about ‘happy family’ before tragedy in NZ
“I met the twins four days after they were born and loved those children like my own.”
A Pretoria nanny was devastated after hearing about the death of three young girls, killed at their new home in Timaru, New Zealand.
Graham and Lauren Dickason’s three children: Liane (6) and twins Karla and Maya (2), were found dead on Thursday in NZ.
A woman was recently arrested and charged for their deaths. The woman, who cannot not be named before appearing in court, was expected at the Timaru district court tomorrow.
Mandy Sibanyoni, Pretoria resident and former nanny of the Dickason children, was heartbroken.
“I met the twins four days after they were born and loved those children like my own,” she told Rekord on Friday.
Sibanyoni worked for the Dickason family from 2018 to 2020, but still kept contact with them.
“Lauren is such a wonderful and happy person. It is through her that I met the people I currently work for,” she said.
“The (kids’) dad is an awesome guy and he loved his girls. They were really a happy family.”
The family lived in the east of Pretoria before they sold their house to go to New Zealand.
“The last time I met with Lauren was in June. She called me to say she has lemons for me, because she knew how much I liked lemons,” Sibanyoni said in a broken voice.
Prayers and condolences streamed in on social media after news of the tragedy spread.
Marie Kroeger wrote:
“Imagine, going through all the Trauma of Immigrating, selling, packing, Home affairs, applications, and much, much more, only for this to happen, two weeks after. No words can describe the Heartache I feel for all involved. It is tragic beyond comprehension. RIP tiny Angels and sincerest condolences to the beloved in SA. Weeping.”
Jean Leonard wrote:
“Our heartfelt sympathy and prayers to everyone impacted.”
The New Zealand Herald previously wrote that Graham, an orthopaedic surgeon, and Lauren, a doctor in the same field, had moved into their new home close to the hospital they had started work at in Timaru.
“About 10pm on Thursday emergency services were called to the house on Queen St. There they found the three girls dead and a woman, believed to be their mother, with critical injuries,” NZ Herald wrote.
It was still unclear what had happened at the Dickasons new home that tore the three beautiful “princesses” from their loved ones.
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