On 9 January 2008, 22-year-old Sophie Kate Elliott (born 11 June 1985) was stabbed to death by ex-boyfriend Clayton Robert Weatherston (born 9 January 1976), in
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...
, New Zealand.
The crime and trial were covered extensively in the news media, and contributed to the government abolishing the partial defence of
provocation
Provocation, provoke or provoked may refer to:
* Provocation (legal), a type of legal defense in court which claims the "victim" provoked the accused's actions
* Agent provocateur
An is a person who actively entices another person to commi ...
in cases of murder.
Murder
Elliott and Weatherston had a romantic relationship which lasted around six months and ended before her death. In court, witnesses described the relationship as troubled. Weatherston had been an economics lecturer at the
University of Otago
The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...
, and also taught Elliott, who completed an honours degree in economics. On the day she died, she was packing to relocate to
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
the next day, and start a job at the
New Zealand Treasury
The New Zealand Treasury () is the central public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the New Zealand Government, Government on economic policy, assisting with improving the performance of Economy of New Zealand, New Zealand' ...
.
At around 12:30 pm on 9 January 2008, Sophie Elliott and her mother
Lesley were at the family home in the suburb of
Ravensbourne northeast of the city centre when Weatherston arrived unannounced, saying he had a farewell present. A short time later Lesley heard her daughter screaming. A
New Zealand Police officer, Constable John Cunningham, responding to a
111 call from Lesley found Weatherston locked in Sophie's bedroom. When asked what he had done, he told the officer "I killed her". He was then arrested and taken into custody.
Forensic pathologist Martin Sage performed the autopsy the next day, and found Elliott died from blood loss. Two wounds pierced her heart and one lung, with other wounds to her neck and throat severing the main artery and the major vein. In total she received 216 separate injuries, mostly stab wounds from a knife blade, with some inflicted by scissors. Additionally there were seven blunt force injuries. The pathologist found some
defensive wounds, and that the attack targeted aspects of beauty and was intended to disfigure.
Trial
At the end of a week-long depositions hearing during May 2008 in the Dunedin High Court, Weatherston pleaded not guilty and was committed for trial by two justices of the peace. The trial moved to the Christchurch High Court for suppressed reasons, and was scheduled to start on 22 June 2009. Weatherston was represented by
Judith Ablett-Kerr
Judith Mary Ablett-Kerr (née Ablett; born ) is a criminal defence lawyer and King's Counsel in New Zealand.
Early life and education
Ablett-Kerr was born in 1946 or 1947 in Wales and grew up there. Her mother Bessie died when she was eight, ...
QC, who argued a defence of
provocation
Provocation, provoke or provoked may refer to:
* Provocation (legal), a type of legal defense in court which claims the "victim" provoked the accused's actions
* Agent provocateur
An is a person who actively entices another person to commi ...
.
The knife used in the attack came from Weatherston's kitchen; the defence stated he carried it concealed all the time for self-defence. Two psychiatrists also appeared for the defence, stating he had
narcissistic personality disorder
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a life-long pattern of grandiosity, exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a diminished ability to empathy, empathize w ...
.
After a five-week trial the jury returned a verdict of guilty on 22 July,
and on 15 September Justice
Judith Potter sentenced Weatherston to
life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
with a minimum non-parole period of 18 years, saying she believed the killing was deliberate and controlled. The news media in November 2009 revealed that the victim impact statement of Sophie Elliott's father had been censored at the request of the judge, preventing him from addressing some of the claims Weatherston made during the trial.
Appeal
On 13 October 2009, Weatherston's lawyers filed an appeal, claiming there was a "lynch mob" mentality over his actions.
On 7 April 2011, Weatherston's lawyer Robert Lithgow QC appealed the 2009 verdict before the
Court of Appeal
An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
on seven grounds, including that Weatherston did not receive a fair trial due to widespread media coverage, with the magazine ''
Listener
Listener(s) or The Listener(s) may refer to:
Literature
* The Listener (magazine), ''The Listener'' (magazine), a 1929–1991 British weekly covering broadcast media
* ''New Zealand Listener'', weekly magazine covering politics and culture
* The L ...
'' attacking the provocation defence. Lithgow also argued that comments made by
Law Commission
A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...
deputy president Warren Young unduly influenced the Christchurch jury,
and challenged the use of photographs of the wounds Weatherston inflicted on Elliott as exhibits.
Crown prosecutor Cameron Mander opposed these arguments, pointing out that the jury had been directed to ignore media coverage of the case and that Young's attack on provocation could not be linked specifically to the Elliott murder. Elliott's parents and
Sensible Sentencing Trust
The Sensible Sentencing Trust was a political advocacy group based in Napier, New Zealand. The Trust's stated goal is "to educate both the public and victims of serious violent and/or sexual crime and homicide" It focuses on advocating for the ri ...
spokesman
Garth McVicar
Garth Neil McVicar (born 1951) is a New Zealand political lobbyist who founded the Sensible Sentencing Trust (SST) law-and-order advocacy group in 2001. In August 2014, he stood down from SST to focus on a campaign for election to Parliament. M ...
also criticised the appeal.
Three Court of Appeal judges reviewed the 2009 trial and verdict,
and on 17 June 2011 denied the appeal on all seven grounds. They said that Justice Potter had directed the jury sufficiently to ignore media coverage, and that the use of the photographs did not undermine the trial's fairness.
Weatherston sought leave of the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
to appeal the Court of Appeal's denial, but it rejected this on 13 September 2011.
Sophie Elliott Foundation
On 6 October 2010, the Sophie Elliott Foundation was launched. The aim of the foundation was to warn and educate young women of the signs of an abusive relationship. One of the trustees was Kristin Dunne-Powell, who suffered abuse at the hands of high-profile sports presenter
Tony Veitch
Tony Colin Veitch (born 1973) is a New Zealand former reporter and sports broadcaster. He hosted a Radio Sport breakfast show and Television New Zealand's ONE News 6pm sports news. Veitch resigned from all broadcasting roles in the wake of dom ...
. The foundation's main aim was to raise money to fund a nationwide primary prevention programme and to support local community initiatives which aligned with the foundation. On 10 June 2011, Elliott's parents launched the book ''Sophie’s Legacy—A Mother's Story of Her Family's Loss and Their Quest For Change'' to present her side of the story while warning young women of the dangers of domestic violence. In 2013, the foundation partnered up with the
New Zealand Police and
Ministry of Social Development to develop a one-day workshop for Year 12 students named Loves-Me-Not, to educate students on healthy relationships and prevent abusive relationships.
In 2019, Elliott's mother Lesley Elliott closed the foundation, stating that her
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
prevented her from continuing to run the foundation, and that she did not want another person controlling her daughter's image. , the New Zealand Police continue to run the Loves-Me-Not workshop in high schools.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Sophie
1985 births
2008 deaths
2008 in New Zealand
Deaths by stabbing in New Zealand
2008 in New Zealand law
New Zealand murder victims
2000s murders in New Zealand
2008 crimes in New Zealand
2008 murders in Oceania
Crime in Dunedin
2000s in Dunedin