The relationship between Clayton Weatherston and Sophie Elliott had been highly unstable and volatile and was detrimental to both of them, the High Court in Christchurch heard yesterday.
Murder accused Clayton Weatherston was ill-equipped to deal with the situation he was in because of his unique personality make-up, the High Court at Christchurch heard yesterday.
Court reporter Kay Sinclair is in Christchurch covering the Clayton Weatherston murder trial. Readers are advised that some of the details in this report are disturbing.
Former University of Otago academic Clayton Robert Weatherston (33) today admitted the manslaughter of his ex-girlfriend, Sophie Elliott on January 9 last year but he denied murdering her.
The trial of former Otago University research fellow Clayton Weatherston for the killing of his ex-girlfriend begins in the High Court at Christchurch today.
The trial of former University of Otago research fellow Clayton Weatherston for the murder of his ex-girlfriend has been delayed until tomorrow.
"Was it Robin, was it David?" - the question put to a High Court jury in Dunedin in 1995 was posed again in Christchurch yesterday before 12 jurors retired to begin their deliberations in the trial of 37-year-old David Cullen Bain.
David Bain was not a homicidal maniac or a psychopath and the police were too quick to accuse him of being the killer of five members of his family.
A criminal prosecution described by defence lawyer Michael Reed QC as "undoubtedly the most extraordinary case in New Zealand legal history" enters its final phase in the High Court at Christchurch today.
Robin Bain cleaned himself up before committing suicide because he did not want to "meet his maker" while in "a fearful state with blood all over him", the jury hearing David Bain's retrial for the murders of his family has been told.
Forensic evidence in the trial of 37-year-old David Bain gave a firm picture that Bain, not his father, killed his family, the High Court at Christchurch heard yesterday.
There was "not the slightest shred of forensic evidence" linking Robin Bain to the murders at the family's Every St home on June 20, 1994, the Christchurch jury hearing David Bain's retrial was told yesterday.
The Crown says the defence has made a fundamental change to its fingerprint evidence in the David Bain murder retrial in Christchurch.
The bullet that caused a fatal wound to the top of Laniet Bain's head passed through a fabric-covered object before it entered her skull, the High Court at Christchurch heard yesterday.
Laniet Bain was going to tell her family "everything" and make a clean start, according to a Dunedin man who fled the country to avoid giving evidence.
The David Bain murder trial is drawing to a close in the High Court at Christchurch with all evidence now completed - but the jury will not start considering its verdict until late next week.
Members of Margaret Bain's family say they were never told by a police officer that David Bain was "the enemy" and they were "going to get him".
Defence claim that David Bain's fingerprints on the rifle used to kill five of his family in 1994 were not in blood was the subject of rebuttal evidence from the Crown yesterday.
The difficulties of communicating with the other side of the world, even with the most modern technology, were highlighted in the Christchurch High Court today.
A warrant has been issued in the High Court for the arrest of Dunedin man Dean Cottle, alleged to have been Laniet Bain's "pimp" before her murder almost 15 years ago.
