Posts by Grant McDougall
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Did you know Otago's mascot is Shaq the Cat? And that he was stolen from the Otago Nuggets basketball team? Crazy.
Which is nowhere near as crazy as the fact that recently-convicted murderer Clayton Weatherston was the person "inside" the Shaq outfit for some years.
As a long-suffering Otago supporter, well, let's just say that history is unfortunately against them winning the shield tonight. But they will win it in my lifetime. They simply must.
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John Key was, as expected, sticking up for her in the media today.
But I hope - probably naively I know - that he was backing her in public, but actually putting a flea in her ear privately, telling her to stop making a fool of herself (even more...).
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Colin Bouwer. This is actually a timely reminder for other reasons. In all the speculation about mental state, intent etc., it's useful to re-consider a man who slowly slyly systematically poisons his wife over the course of months. And who presumably thought he could get away with it.
A mate of mine works at the National Poisons Centre here in Dunedin and she was a prosecution witness in that case. In short, she testified that he rang the centre several times and asked questions about certain poisons, their effects, etc.
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Wasn't the a high achieving psychiatrist also from Otago thats been banged up for murder?
I assume you're refering to the guy that poisoned his wife about five years ago ? His son was also arrested (in South Africa, their home country) for murdering his wife at the same time.
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There were about five fresh boquets of flowers at Elliot's memorial plaque at Otago University by about 3.30pm today.
I also bumped into Otago's dean of law, Prof. Mark Henagan and had a good yarn to him about the case. He expects Weatherston will get at least 20 years.
He also said that Ablett-Kerr and King shoudn't have conducted the case as they did. Instead, if they'd wanted to run the provocation line, they should've simply stated that case, rather than getting into smearing the victim ,etc. -
Second most reviled figure - Judith Ablett-Kerr. For going beyond her brief of providing a defence in this farcical case and, despite her mealy-mouthed protestations otherwise, putting the victim on trial.
Vile, vile, vile.She and Greg King need to take a long, hard look at themselves. They both really scrapped the bottom of the barrel. I see her now and again my local supermarket and I expect she'll be avoiding eye contact with a lot of people in it for a long time.
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Thank God. Beyond reviled. I have never come across a case where the defendant made himself such a hated figure.
There isn't too much I agree with DPF about, but I heartily agree with this.
I have never seen a defendant come across as so smug, conceited and arrogant as Weatherston. I'm amazed that his defence team didn't at least seem to tell him not to ego-wank so much.
The more he talked, the more he dug himself deeper into it. I think this is a good verdict.
I'm going down to Otago Uni campus later today - it'll be interesting to see if there's any people or notes about this verdict left at her memorial plaque there; I expect there will be.
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DUNEDIN PUBLIC ADDRESS MEET-UP THIS EVENING!!
All Public Address readers in Dunedin are invited to have a yarn and a few drinks this evening.
Meet at Ironic bar (opposite the railway station) at 5.30pm. See you there!
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DUNEDIN PUBLIC ADDRESS MEET-UP TOMORROW:
Ironic Bar, (opposite railway station), 5.30pm onwards. There's a couple of tables reserved for us.
If you're in Dunedin tomorrow, come along !
Feel free to e-mail me for more info.
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Regarding Rankin, while I disagree with a lot of what he says on other topics, Bill Ralston has summed up the fiasco of her appointment and subsequent mouthing -off very, very well in his blog at Stuff.
He really hits the nail on the head, I reckon.