A Deadly Obsession: The Brutal Murder of Sophie Elliott
A man seeking revenge on his ex-girlfriend stabbed her 216 times — then argued he was provoked because she had dumped him.
The Murder
On 9th January 2008, economics tutor Clayton Weatherston (31) turned up at the home of his ex-girlfriend Sophie Elliott (22) in Dunedin, New Zealand. After recently ending her six-month relationship with Weatherston, Sophie was in the process of packing for her move to Wellington, where she was relocating for a new job. Sophie’s mother, Lesley, answered the door and allowed Weatherston inside after he claimed to be delivering a ‘parting gift’. However, his visit quickly turned nasty.
Lesley Elliott recalled suddenly hearing bloodcurdling screams coming from her daughter’s bedroom and immediately she “tore upstairs”, initially believing her daughter was being raped. Lesley later spoke of how she tried relentlessly to break through the locked bedroom door and described the horrific scene that confronted her when she finally broke inside:
“Sophie was dead. Clayton was still stabbing her… She was lying in the corner of her bedroom, just inside the door. She was dead white and her eyes were staring… Clayton continued to stab her in the chest. He was straddled over her legs… I thought he was going right through her and that was what the rhythmic noise was.”
According to Weatherston’s version of events, an argument broke out in Sophie’s bedroom after she insulted his family and attempted to attack him with a pair of scissors. In ‘self-defence’, he then produced a knife from his laptop bag and attacked her with it. In total, Sophie sustained 216 stab wounds, including to her eyes, genitals, breasts, cheeks, scalp, throat, and the tip of her nose and hair were cut off.
Trial & Sentencing
During his trial, Weatherston claimed that he often carried a knife in case he found himself in a situation which required self-protection. However, the fact he intentionally targeted areas of femininity in an attack fuelled by rage led the prosecution to argue that Weatherston had entirely pre-planned the killing. Given the number and nature of the injuries that Sophie suffered, his claim of self-defence was ultimately rejected by the presiding judge.
Several people were able to testify that Clayton had been physically and psychologically abusive towards Sophie during their short-lived relationship, resulting in her breaking up with Weatherston for good. However, he had an obsession with Sophie which continued afterwards, and he would talk about her constantly to other people. When he finally realised she was not going to reconcile, Weatherston took a knife from his kitchen and made his way over to Sophie’s home with the intention of harming her.
In June 2009, Weatherston was put on trial for murder, and there was nationwide outrage when his lawyers used the ‘provocation defence’ by arguing that Sophie had provoked him due to the emotional instability of their relationship. Ultimately, Sophie’s choice to end the relationship had been the final straw that pushed Weatherston to breaking point.
On 15th September 2009, Clayton Weatherston was sentenced to life imprisonment and can only be considered for parole after serving a minimum term of 18 years.
Changes in Legislation
Until 2009, the provocation defence allowed killers in New Zealand to argue that they had been provoked by the victim. Introduced in 1961, this form of defence was used in courtrooms with the aim of reducing murder charges to manslaughter. As specified by the Crimes Act 1961, the provocation defence could not justify the act of killing, but it could be used to argue that the perpetrator was less blameworthy due to a lack of self-control in provoked circumstances.
Due to public outcry and calls for change in the media, Sophie’s tragic death initiated the government’s rethink and subsequent abolishment of using provocation as a partial defence in murder cases.
In October 2009, a bill was introduced to officially repeal the provocation defence in New Zealand.
