Tinder ‘murder’ jury FAILS to reach verdict in balcony death plunge case
The pair had been on a first date which turned violent and saw Gable Tostee lock Warriena Wright on the balcony of his fourteenth-floor apartment in August 2014
THE jury in the case of Gable Tostee are struggling to reach a unanimous verdict.
The six men and six women jurors have been deliberating for hours in the Brisbane Supreme Court, Australia, in the trial of Tostee, who is accused of murdering his Tinder date Warriena Wright in 2014.
Ms Wright, a New Zealand tourist, fell 14 floors to her death while trying to escape from Tostee’s apartment balcony in Gold Coast city, Queensland, Australia.
It comes after the jurors passed a note asking four questions to Justice Byrne on Monday, seeking clarification surrounding the removal of Ms Wright by Tostee, 30, from his apartment and onto his balcony.
The first question asked at which point during the audio recording did Tostee remove "a disorderly person from his property".
Defence barrister Saul Holt, argued that Tostee was acting within his legal right to remove a disorderly person from his property, when he forcibly put Ms Wright on the balcony and shut the door, moments before she plunged to her death while attempting to climb to the balcony underneath on August 8, 2014.
“It does not matter when,” Justice Byrne answered.
“You must find the accused not guilty of both murder and manslaughter unless you are satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused used more force than necessary in removing Warriena Wright from his unit.”
The jury also asked if Tostee putting Ms Wright on his balcony constituted removing her from his property.
Justice Byrne’s reply was brief. “Yes,” he answered.
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The jury was then sent back to continue their deliberations, before returning with yet another note - this time saying it could not reach a verdict.
Justice Byrne earlier instructed jurors that Wright’s level of drunkenness on the night she plunged to her death is a factor they must consider when determining if the decision she made to climb over Tostee’s balcony was a rational one.
Jurors asked whether Ms Wright’s level of intoxication when she died was a factor they must take into account when determining if her decision to climb over Tostee’s balcony was rational and reasonable.
Justice Byrne said it was a factor they must consider when determining if Tostee unlawfully killed his Tinder date, on August 8, 2014.
“A jury of your accumulated experience of life scarcely needs a judge to point out that excessive consumption of alcohol can impair judgement ... People, when drunk do things, they would not when sober,” he said.
“The degree of Warriena Wright’s intoxication when the accused moved her onto the balcony has potential to bear on your consideration as to whether the decision to climb over the balcony was a reasonable and rational or proportionate response to the accused’s conduct.
“Her state of mind should be taken into account, the extent to which her decision to climb over the balcony was reasonable, rational and proportionate, in response to the conduct of the accused.”
Crown prosecutor Glenn Cash argued Ms Wright chose to climb the balcony due to her “abject fear” of Tostee, while defence counsel Saul Holt, QC, argued Tostee locked Ms Wright out on the balcony to de-escalate the violent situation in the apartment, in which Ms Wright had repeatedly attacked him.
Justice Byrne also instructed jurors that a metal object CCTV footage captured Tostee carrying when he exited the lift of his apartment building after Ms Wright’s death is irrelevant to their deliberations.
He said what Tostee had in his hand after Ms Wright’s death had no bearing on their verdict, reminding them of his earlier direction that Tostee’s conduct after Ms Wright’s fatal fall should not be considered as pointing to his guilt.
“There is no evidence beyond the CCTV of the item you have asked about,” he said.
“Neither of the final addresses sought to make anything of what you could see on the CCTV footage after Ms Wright’s death. Neither party speculated.
“Finally, I remind you of my direction you cannot give Mr Tostee’s conduct after Ms Wright fell as in any way advancing the prosecution case on murder or manslaughter.”
Tostee has pleaded not guilty to murder.
He is facing a potential life sentence if convicted of the young woman’s death.
The jury may also find a lesser charge of manslaughter.