I’m probably in contempt of court for posting this and, yes, it’s way off-topic but I couldn’t resist writing about a murder trial going on here in New Zealand at the moment.

A brief introduction – university lecturer Clayton Weatherston is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend and student, Sophie Elliot, by stabbing her 216 times using both a knife and scissors.

Weatherson admits killing her but claims it wasn’t murder, but manslaughter. His rationale is kind of entertaining;

  • As a child he was anxious about wearing glasses, when Elliot knocked his glasses off his face it triggered this attack
  • Elliot was sexually forward offering to (gasp horror) see Weatherston at any time
  • Elliot bought up previous boyfriends in conversation and alluded to the fact that she had other options than Weatherston
  • Elliott once pushed him and told him he looked like shit, after he had spent time with a previous girlfriend

How much is this farce costing us, the taxpayers. This nutter stabbed Elliot 216 times. Maybe the rationale he gives justifies a defence against slapping her or something but for God’s sake – 216 times?

Meanwhile our health system is crumbling, education is abysmal, and economically we’re rapidly slipping down the ranking charts…

But we can all rest comfortable that Clayton gets his day(s) in court

Sheesh…

Ben Kepes

Ben Kepes is a technology evangelist, an investor, a commentator and a business adviser. Ben covers the convergence of technology, mobile, ubiquity and agility, all enabled by the Cloud. His areas of interest extend to enterprise software, software integration, financial/accounting software, platforms and infrastructure as well as articulating technology simply for everyday users.

18 Comments
  • This guy is thinks he is so smart.

    I feel for the victims family, I hope the weasel gets caged for a long time.

  • Everyone is allowed to have a fair trial in this country and if that ever changed it would be a slippery slope. Just think of those people who have been PUT TO DEATH in the US but have since found to be innocent. Do you think fast tracking of justice is the right way to go? Think again.

    Remember the courts are there to give both sides a chance to argue their case and for a verdict to be given after considering all of the evidence. Lets thank our lucky stars that we actually have that right even if it does seem wasteful some of the time.

  • Yeah I know Glen but really? 216 times? Because as a child he was anxious about wearing glasses?

    Open and shut case anyone?

  • Ben, It may be an ‘open and shut case’ but that is not for us to decide. If it was then we would have public a lynching and we could all go home. Some cases are going to be outliers (at both ends of the spectrum).

  • I’m all for the odd lynching…

    (that was a joke)

  • The more this guy is on telly, the less the public will forget what he has done in 10 / 15 years…

    Drag out the trial and his sentence

  • The guy is a nutter and we should be more like China in these cases.

    He has admitted he killed her so do what the Chinese would do which is take him out the back and put a bullet in his head.

    We save on keeping the muppet in jail and justice is served.

    Stuff PC and shoot him!

  • I’m sure in jail he will get whats coming to him. He’s a uni lecturer for heavens sake. Hes a cold hearted killer. period

  • We are hearing about the defending case because its their turn, what else can the defense feasibly come up with? The “crazy” reasoning is all they have. I would speculate that the jury is about as sympathetic as the public is, which is not at all. So I’m not worried that this guy will get off, or get anything less than life. On another note, i would absolutely agree with Glen, if we have the right to distinguish who is entitled to a fair trial and who isn’t then we would be living in a society not dissimilar to the dark ages.

  • I agree that a trial is needed to ensure that our justice system remains fair. I also agree that Weatherston is wasting our time and money by producing such a farcical defense. It simply demonstrates to anyone who might not already have decided that he is a self-obsessed idiot with an over inflated sense of his own importance and superiority. The fact he took the knife with him would make me reject the “manslaughter” defence – this was as pre-meditated as they come. In my mind his legal team needs their legal aid fee reducing as they have shown contempt for the system by allowing (and no doubt encouraging him) to pursue such a line of defence. The public will show their opinion when the jury takes all of 20 minutes to reach a verdict, most of that time spent going to the bathroom and getting a coffee.

  • The philosophy behind any saner justice system should be “any number of criminals can get away without punishment but not even one innocent person should be punished wrongly”. The money spent on this case may be the price (let us call it tax) we pay for being a civilized society. Otherwise, we could have stayed in the cannibal age itself.

    The justice system should be the same if there was one stab or 1 million stab because then the question of where you draw the line complicates the issue. For you 216 stabs may be an open and shut case and for another person, just a single stab or even a scratch could be an open and shut case. If you justify the 216 case, how can you not accept the justification for a scratch case or 1 stab case? Where do you draw a line.

    There is a reason why judicial process is painfully slow and expensive in civilized countries. Otherwise, we have to treat cannibal system or China or Iran or Bush to be right. My 2 cents.

  • Marc – not sure if they still do, but when I lived in China they sent the nearest living relative the cost of the bullet.

    I cannot agree more on Ben’s original post and some of the similar sentiments expressed here.

  • Look we would be doing this country a favour by putting a bullet between the eyes of this scum bag!, Why should we let him become a member of nz`s most controversial club (the Nz prisons). Inmates have underfloor heating (I should know i built two of the bloody things Ngawha, and Springhill), Playstation, Access to cellphones, the BROS ” sneaking in drugs” Roast meals every sunday, Out houses where lady friends can come and spend quality time. ALL funded by hard working HUAS like you and me. So yes I agree with Marc! And even if we couldnt bullet the HUA Just wish our corrections sytem was setup the same way as JOE Arpaio http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=2244807285 Bastards would think twice about there actions!

  • Anyone who stabs his girlfriend over 200 times should not be found guilty of murder or even manslaughter. He is obviously highly unstable and highly dangerous. He should be found innocent and then locked away for life (no parol) (none what so ever) for the protection of anyone else that would otherwise be endangered by him in the future.

  • If someone with a KNIFE! Killed somebody by stabbing them 200 times in there private parts, chest area and gets kicks out of cutting off her titties LIKE Clayton Weatherston did!!! Deserves a Bullet to the Back of the skull!! Your dead right William Clayton is a sick individual! LIKE a sick Dog!! Farmers shoot Dogs that are sick! Clayton Weatherston is one such sick chappy and needs a good bullet! or Better still! Have his privates mutillated and tittes cut off with a pair of snips before Stabbing his chest 200+ times. That would cheer me up! And the General Public!

  • THANK GOODNESS THE BASTARDS FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER… LIKE THE SCUM HE IS!!!!

  • Paul Lattimore |

    Two words. One bullet.

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