Stories by Niva Chittock

Immense sadness, a sombre cloud, acceptance and healing were some of the emotions being felt in Timaru after the verdict. Audio

Lauren Dickason murdered her three young daughters, a High Court jury has found

The jury in the murder trial of Lauren Dickason has asked to rewatch her police interview from the day after she killed her children. Audio

The detective in charge of the Yanfei Bao homicide investigation says items found so far have created positive lines of inquiry.

The first psychiatrist to formally interview Lauren Dickason believes the mother killed her children out of control, not love.

The 83-year-old appeared in the Greymouth District Court today, charged with sexual offending against the girls over a period of more than 20 years.

Lauren Dickason relied on her husband to help manage her depression and anxiety, the High Court at Christchurch has heard. Audio

A forensic psychiatrist told the Christchurch High Court it is concerning the woman accused of murdering her children was self-prescribing for her mental health.

The High Court has heard what was going through Lauren Dickason's mind in the lead-up to killing her children. Audio

Lauren Dickason's mother has told the court her daughter seemed absent in the final months before she left South Africa for Timaru.

Her face crumpled in the video as she stated what she had done - killing her three children - was "irreversible". Audio

Lauren Dickason made online searches on how to cause child drug overdoses in the weeks leading up to the deaths of her three young daughters. Audio

"She's done this to hurt me" were some of the first words from Lauren Dickason's husband after finding his three young daughters dead in their beds.

The High Court has heard Lauren Dickason's family had serious concerns about her mental wellbeing in the weeks before she moved to New Zealand.

The High Court in Christchurch has heard Lauren Dickason spoke about harming her daughters on three separate occasions before they died.

禁塑令第二阶段实施以来，一些商家发现很难找到塑料制品的替代品。

Crown lawyers say a mother charged with murdering her three daughters in Timaru in 2021 talked about harming her children in messages to friends.

The Ministry of Education says a Christchurch intermediate's roll is being reduced to encourage students to go to their local school.

A majority of the government organisations working to become carbon neutral from 2025 have not yet established travel limits for their staff.

Christchurch's only 24-hour surgery was forced to close its doors for almost three hours on Tuesday night due to high demand.

Twitter's new interim viewing limits will not stop important messages from getting to the public, emergency services say.

According to tools used to determine safe staffing levels, Canterbury's neurosurgical, emergency and intensive care departments were short dozens of full-time roles.

New Zealand will wave goodbye to another lot of single-use plastics on Saturday including produce bags, cutlery, plates and bowls.

The Ministry of Education has decided to push ahead with plans to reduce the roll, rejecting the school's alternative proposal.

Christchurch City Council is now leading an investigation into how human and animal waste is entering its waterways.