The day before she died, Sophie Elliott told her former academic supervisor that Clayton Weatherston had wished her dead, the supervisor said in court yesterday.
University of Otago senior lecturer in economics Dr Robert Alexander also told the Dunedin District court that things Miss Elliott told him Weatherston said to her made him feel 'quite sick''.
Dr Alexander was giving evidence on the second day of depositions hearings against Weatherston (32), who is accused of stabbing Miss Elliott to her death in January,
Dr Alexander said over the year he was Miss Elliott's dissertation supervisor, she increasingly spoke to him of the negative aspects of her relationship with Weatherston.
"[Her concerns] were mainly along the lines of things like him belittling her intellectually or criticising her appearance, calling her fat or ugly. He said to her things like 'If you weren't so stupid you'd look it up yourself.''
He recalled the A student telling him Weatherston told her he was with a new girl who was 5 foot ten, a model and `such a step up from her'' and that a week before her death Weatherston told her he wished she was dead because she had ruined his chances at the job he wanted.
On cross-examination from defence lawyer Judith Ablett-Kerr, Dr Alexander declined to accept her suggestion that Weatherston was ``hypersensitive to criticism''.
"I would put it that he thought he was superior to everyone else and above criticism.
He made it clear he thought he was brighter than Sophie and indeed anyone else in that year.
He said Weatherston often suggested his students' work was worthless and demoralised students, a pattern of behaviour that was evident for several years.
He had brought it up with Weatherston, but that conversation had turned to a pending lectureship, which Weatherston had applied for. Dr Alexander said he advised Weatherston he was unlikely to get the job because of the trouble he had already caused at the university by making two separate accusations of plagarisation of his work, once against the then head of the economics department.
"As a colleague I was concerned about his situation. I was concerned enough to suggest other jobs because he had few supporters left in the department and was unlikely to get the job.''
To a question from Mrs Ablett-Kerr he said he had not brought up Miss Elliott's concerns with the head of department.
"I saw the priority as that I was listening to Sophie in a personal capacity and the nature of the relationship was the head of department's responsibility. He knew what was going on, whether he would want to listen to what one party said to the other, I don't know.''
The depositions hearing continues this afternoon.
