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When is a killing murder?

What the heck! How is it that you can go around to your former girl friend with a knife, stab her mercilessly 216x.

Clayton Robert Weatherston is on trial for allegedly doing this to Sophie Elliot in Dunedin in 2008. Supposedly he stabbed her 216 times with the knife. She had stab wounds to both eyes, her genitals, breasts, left cheek, left temple, left ear, the left side of the neck and 45 stab wounds to the front of her throat. He cut off the tip of her nose! That is utterly disgusting and my heart goes out to her and her family for what they have gone through.

He admits he killed her but claims 'partial defence of provocation' and claims it is manslaughter. Apparently he admited the killing immediately in a calm tone. Allegedly he told the office he killed her and mutilated her for 'the emotional pain that she has caused me over the past year.' It is alleged that he believed she had cost him a chance at a permanent lecturer's position at Otago University.

Supposedly he was, to quote the defence, ill-equipped to deal with' the relationship 'because of his unique personality make-up.' The claim is that she attacked him with the scissors so he dealt to her with the knife.

Holy moley! When is a killing a murder. If she had one fatal stab wound and he had not come into the house with a knife, maybe. But come on! This is ludicrous. Here's a guy 'slighty' over-reacting! What on earth is he doing claiming manslaughter. When is such an action justified? When a man responds to a woman in such a way, what is this? I say, thank God for Otago University that they did not employ him! As a lecturer myself, I can't imagine anything worse. He's not the sort of guy you would want meet up with in the staff room. Imagine the conversation!

'Hey Clayt,' you're looking tired.

'What, you messing with me,' he replies, threateningly.

'No... just ... you don't look yourself...,' you reply sheepishly.

Next thing you know you are pinned to the noticeboard with a knife to the throat!

Anyway, that is all rather insensitive and I apologise.

What I don't get is how such behaviour from a man can ever be justified as anything other than murder unless this man is claiming insanity. First, he brought the knife. Second, he didn't just kill her, he utterly mutilated her.

To me it raises 2 questions. First, is there something wrong with our justice system? By the way, I was speaking to a police investigator off the record the other day (not being investigated!), and he said to me as an investigator that there was nothing in the Bain trial at an investigative level that supported the idea that Robyn Bain had killed his family. Interesting. Not saying I acccept this, I don't know enough and he has done the time whatever the real truth; but, to me, there are real problems in the NZ justice system around violent crime. This manslaughter plea is another. What the!

Secondly, shouldn't he just do the right thing?

Comments

Adventurous said…
It is amazing how our politicians (much thanks to Helen) and nation have become so PC and thrown out morality. The wise thinking they have no need of God have become fools.

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