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Source: ONE News -
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Tense exchanges have taken place in the High Court in Christchurch as the man on trial for the murder of his former girlfriend has been cross-examined by the Crown.
Clayton Weatherston, 33, a former tutor at Otago University, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 22-year-old Sophie Elliott at her home in Dunedin in January last year, but guilty to manslaughter.
Weatherston, at one stage on Tuesday, asked the prosecutor if he was telling the truth and also told him he was scraping the barrel with one line of questioning.
The accused was under fire from the prosecution about what happened in Elliott's bedroom on the day he stabbed her to death.
"You have decided at that point the door is locked and you are going to kill her. It is that point you have made that decision and locked the door," said Robin Bates, Crown Prosecutor.
Weatherston said he disagreed with that completely.
He also disagreed with the suggestion that Elliott did not attack him first with a pair of scissors, as he claims.
"The knife breaks at some stage, is that correct?" asked Bates.
Weatherston replied," I think I saw. I'm not sure. I don't know."
But the Crown put to him he did know what he was doing that day.
"When you dragged her into the middle, clearly she was already dead. What you did in the middle was systematically mutilate her body. Cut of her ears, cut the tip of her nose off. Did you use the scissors for that?" asked Bates.
Weatherston replied he didn't know.
The prosecution read from Elliott's diary in which she said
Weatherston went psycho about a fight just two weeks before her
death.
"He told me I'm a f...horrible, I'm a f...horrible person, everyone
hates me, I'm f... ugly, he's never loved me," the diary read.
Weatherston had this response in court.
"It's drama, it's pride and prejudice, you've seen it. She's Mrs Bennett, I'm Mr Darcy, it's Mills and Boon man."
Weatherston said she was out to demonise him. But Bates suggested it's the accused who has been embellishing his evidence.
"I can't believe that we are talking about this. You are really scrapping the barrel with this," said Weatherston.
Bates asked Weatherston if he was using the Bill Clinton defence.
"Are you lying to me Mr Bates? Are you not telling the truth?" said Weatherston.
There were gasps from the public gallery during several of the exchanges between the accused and prosecutor.
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