Family miss their vivacious daughter

An Oregon University academic says Sophie Elliott could have become a leader in intellectual thinking. Photo / Supplied

Sophie Elliott had a first-class honours economics degree behind her and was heading to Wellington for a "plum job" at the Treasury when a former boyfriend ended her life.

Yesterday, Clayton Weatherston was found guilty in the High Court at Christchurch of murder after a four-and-a-half-week trial in which Gil and Lesley Elliott often felt their daughter was the one in the dock.

Weatherston, 33, was emotionless as the verdict was delivered to cries of "yes", "you beauty" and "well done" from the packed public gallery.

Family and friends of his 22-year-old victim endured a painful time listening to Weatherston and his defence lawyers describe a very different person from the infectious personality they knew and loved.

Sophie's mother, Lesley, said Weatherston painted her daughter as a controlling girlfriend.

"He was 10 years older than her. He was controlling her. And he called her his psycho girlfriend. What a joke. He was a psycho."

Weatherston even went as far as calling Sophie an attempted murderer, but a very different picture has emerged - one of a bright, kind young woman coming out of an abusive relationship and excited about beginning a new life.

Gil Elliott said much was said of Weatherston's intellect during the trial, but it was his daughter who was the intelligent one.

Mrs Elliott said there were many things they missed about their "Soph", including her exuberance for life.

"We thought this year she would be at Treasury and all the excitement that held. She would be establishing herself and have friends. I'm sure she would have made a big impression. She would have explained the global economic crisis to us. We miss out on all that as well."

Mr Elliott: "We miss the bright, bubbly, vivacious person that she was. She was cheeky, but she could be frustrating like anybody can be.

"She would have been 24 this year. She would have been well into her career. We're deprived of all that, the boys [Nick and Chris] are deprived of their sister.

"There will never be a husband, never be a son-in-law, never be children and grandchildren."

And their daughter had those plans, Mrs Elliott said.

"She told me, 'Mum, by the time I'm 30, I'm going to give up economics, do photography, I'm going to have kids. Don't tell Dad'."

While her family remember a loving daughter with everything to live for, prominent academics overseas have described her as having a "beautiful mind" and an exciting career ahead of her.

Peter Lambert, economics professor at the University of Oregon, Jean-Yves Duclos, editor of the Journal of Economic Inequality and economics professor at Laval University in Canada and Sir Tony Atkinson, professor of economics at Oxford University, said Sophie had remarkable ability for a young person, exhibited considerable prescience in her thinking and could have been a leader in the field of welfare economics.

Professor Lambert said a paper she wrote titled, Why measure inequality? A discussion of the concept of equality, which was published in this month's edition of the Oxford University economics journal Oxonomics, was "easily the best essay on inequality" he had ever read.

Professor Duclos called the paper a "remarkable piece of research for such a young person".

In a few paragraphs, Sophie had been able to strike right at the core of welfare economics and grasp many of its complex philosophical and ethical issues, he said.

"Elliott certainly had a beautiful mind."

In a postscript to the published article, Sir Tony said that in the time since her death, the issues she "treated so well" in her essay had come to the forefront of public debate as people learned the full extent of the crisis in the financial markets and about the behaviour of those whose decisions led to the crisis.

"Her choice of subject exhibited considerable prescience."

Sophie's essay highlighted that economics was a moral science and showed why welfare economics should return to a central role in the teaching of the subject.

Professor Lambert had no doubt she could have had an academic career. "It is not a stretch to imagine that she could have become a leader in intellectual thinking, somewhere near the border where philosophy, ethics, social justice and economics meet."

But for Sophie's parents it is time now to return home to Dunedin. "We need to go home for a very long time now. We can't wait," Mrs Elliott said.

"Soph is at home, she loved that house, she loved that room. We just feel like we've been away from her for a long time. We need to go back to that and get some sort of normality - Beautiful mind, vivacious daughter

whatever that is - in our lives."

There is some relief the trial is over, but that is outweighed by the loss of their daughter.

Said Mrs Elliott: "I have absolutely no doubt tomorrow I will still have the same feeling as today in terms of our loss of Soph, but not having to constantly think about the trial will be something at least.

"We can make a start on thinking about whatever our lives are going to be in the future."

Mrs Elliott told the Herald her sons had come from Australia for the trial, taking leave without pay and giving up their flats.

"They are both quite a bit older than Sophie, and they both had their own relationships with her.

"They have spent a lot of time just talking about her, and bringing up little things, which has made us realise just how much they really do miss her.

"She was the baby and I suppose she was spoiled."

It had not been easy to sit daily in court and listen, not only to graphic forensic evidence but also to distortions and embellishments of the truth about Sophie.

It also stung to hear Sophie's private diaries, which they themselves had never read, used against her in court.

Mrs Elliott: "She said things in them that she obviously had no intention of anybody ever reading. I know myself, if she was here she would be utterly mortified."

Mr and Mrs Elliott said they were fortunate to have had the unwavering support of family and friends, some of whom stayed in Christchurch through the whole process.

Many had travelled from Dunedin, Auckland and other parts of the country to support them.

"We've had the most amazing support. I think that's the only reason we are still standing up."

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Jarrod Booker