Gable Tostee has been acquitted of murder charges stemming from the 2014 death of 26-year-old tourist Warriena Wright, who fell to her death from his balcony after meeting the Australian 30-year-old on Tinder. After a long night of drinking, the pair ended up on less-than-friendly terms, and Tostee locked Wright on the balcony. Drunk and locked out of his apartment, Wright, who was visiting from New Zealand, tried to climb down the fire escape, but fell. Prosecutors argued Tostee was guilty of murder or manslaughter because he had intimidated Wright to the point that she feared for her own safety. But, as the BBC reports, a Queensland jury didn't buy that argument, acquitting Tostee of all charges after four days of deliberations.
The piece of evidence at the heart of the case is an hours-long recording Tostee secretly made of the conversation between the two. The recording shows a charged night that included consensual sex, multiple arguments and bouts of physical violence, and several instances of discussing death, even including the idea of falling off the balcony. Minutes before locking her out on the balcony, Tostee can be heard on the recording claiming that Wright had attacked him. "You're lucky I haven't chucked you off my balcony," he says. "If you try to pull anything, I'll knock you out." The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has other relevant excerpts from the recording. Prosecutors argued the recording proved that Tostee had terrified Wright to the point that she tried to run away from him, while defense attorneys argued Tostee was trying to protect himself from a drunk and unstable woman. (More crime stories.)
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