Killer hits at victim's legacy

Clayton Weatherston told the court that Sophie Elliott was an attempted murderer. Photo / The Press, Pool

Clayton Weatherston has labelled the former girlfriend he stabbed to death as an attempted murderer and likened her accounts of key incidents to fantasy from romance novels.

But he denied expressing a view to a psychiatrist that Sophie Elliott should be considered responsible for her death.

"Because I played a part in this," Weatherston told the High Court at Christchurch.

The former Otago University economics tutor yesterday denied he was in control when he stabbed and cut Sophie Elliott 216 times, or that he "carefully and systematically" mutilated her body.

He agreed he was frustrated with a trust at Otago University being named in her honour and at her "contrived legacy", given that she attacked him with a pair of scissors on the day of her death.

"Clearly I'm not Sophie's biggest fan because of the relationship we had, and in my view she's an attempted murderer, or attempted a serious assault."

In a day of often heated questioning and interjections yesterday, prosecutor Robin Bates repeatedly accused Weatherston of lying, putting his own spin on events and trying to cast Miss Elliott in a bad light.

Weatherston struck back from the witness box, telling Mr Bates he was "scraping the barrel" with a line of questioning about Weatherston threatening to throw his cat off a balcony.

On another occasion, to gasps from the public gallery, Weatherston said: "Are you lying Mr Bates? Are you not telling the truth?" He then apologised.

After Mr Bates suggested Weatherston kept introducing details never heard before, Weatherston told him: "You're saying if I don't tell you absolutely everything from the get go, I'm making stuff up, so I have to be as exhaustive as I can, and that's going to take a very long time".

Weatherston maintained he could not recall most of his attack on Miss Elliott, but agreed he knew the knife he used was under Miss Elliott's body when police arrived.

"I was very clear that the scissors were used at the end, that I could recall, and I had cutting wounds on my hands."

He denied locking Miss Elliott's bedroom door with the intention of killing her.

Weatherston said Miss Elliott's diary account of an incident at his home 13 days before the murder was "fantasy".

Miss Elliott wrote that he held her down with his hand over her mouth and she feared being raped.

He said: "I disagree with a lot of that. Because it's fantasy ... it's Pride and Prejudice. She's Miss Bennet and I'm Mr Darcy. It's Mills and Boon, man. You've seen it."

In regard to an assault alleged by another former girlfriend, whose name is suppressed, Weatherston again said her version was wrong.

The woman says Weatherston kicked her in the back and ribs, causing her to move across the floor, and then jumped on her.

Asked by Mr Bates if this woman was lying, Weatherston said: "I think she's impressionable and I think her recall is a bit scrambled, just sort of the way she is in respect to all sorts of things".

But he did not deny it was a serious incident.

"As I said to her, it's the worst thing I had ever done in my life."

"Seriously, she could have died. I mean it."

Weatherston will be re-examined today by his lawyer, Judith Ablett-Kerr QC.