Weatherston jury retires for the night

The prosecution says Weatherston was clearly in control when he fatally stabbed and cut Sophie Elliott 216 times. Photo / The Press, pool

The jury in the Clayton Weatherston murder trial has retired for the evening.

They will return to the High Court at Christchurch to continue their deliberations at 9.30am tomorrow.

Justice Judith Potter has allowed the jurors to sleep in their own homes tonight, rather than remain together in a hotel.

The jury earlier retired at 1pm after a two-and-a-half hour summing up by Justice Potter.

Weatherston, a 33-year-old former economics lecturer at the university, has pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge but the Crown is seeking a murder verdict against him for stabbing Miss Elliott 216 times and mutilating her body.

The defence seeks a manslaughter verdict, claiming that he was provoked and lost control because of Miss Elliott's behaviour.

Justice Potter said the pivotal issue in the case was whether the Crown had proved Weatherston killed Miss Elliott with murderous intent, and whether they had proved he was not acting under provocation.

She said that Weatherston admitted he killed Miss Elliott by an unlawful act, by assaulting her and cutting her.

The onus of proof for the charge of murder rested on the Crown, and must exclude the defence of provocation, she said.

She gave the jury a questionnaire sheet to help them reach their decision, and explained the defence of provocation.

She asked the jury to decide if there was something said or done by Miss Elliott which deprived Weatherston of the power of self-control and induced him to kill her.

Weatherston said she made insults against his family, lunged at him with a pair of scissors and the lunge caused his glasses to fall off.

The loss of self-control involved a temporary state when power of self-control was suddenly absent, Justice Potter said.

The jury had to decide if there was a reasonable possibility that if the act of provocation happened, whether it would be enough to deprive an ordinary person, or a person with Weatherston's characteristics described by the psychiatrists, to lose self-control.

She said that if their verdict was not guilty of murder, that would be all they would have to decide, as Weatherston had already pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter.

She summarised the Crown and defence closing addresses for the jury.

- NZPA