'On Thursday, Gold Coast man xxxxxx was found not guilty of the murder of a woman, Warriena Wright, who fell to her death from his unit's balcony. The case raises questions about how common death by falling is — and how many such incidents are homicides.
Cases of homicide by falling are rare.'
'Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows, for 2015, only 28 — or 1 per cent — of fall-related deaths involved falling from a building or a structure.
Data from the Australian Institute of Criminology's national homicide-monitoring program shows between 2008 and 2010 there were no recorded homicides as a result of being "pushed from a high place".
Between 2010 and 2012, the program recorded five (or 1 per cent of) victims of homicide died as the result of being pushed from a high place.'
'
Falling deaths and murder
The xxxxxx case is not the first instance of a fall from a building causing death being linked to criminal conduct.
In 2001, while a senior detective at Surfers Paradise, I led an investigation into someone who had lured a young woman into his 12th-floor unit. After being assaulted the woman tried to escape and fell 12 floors, miraculously surviving the fall. Her assailant was charged with deprivation of liberty and grievous bodily harm.'
'In 2013, New South Wales man Simon Gittany was charged with and convicted of the murder of his girlfriend, Lisa Harnum, who he killed in 2011 by throwing her off a 15th-floor balcony in a fit of rage.'
'
Australian legal precedents
Queensland police based their case against xxxxxx on a 1991 High Court case, Royall v R.'
'
Investigative challenges
One major challenge in cases of death by falling are that, in many instances, the only person left to provide a version of the deceased’s last moments is the suspect. The cases often become circumstantial with little direct evidence, and rely on careful crime reconstruction.
In such cases, crime scene examination becomes crucial, as does the collation of information from third-party witnesses. The xxxxxx case also highlighted the increased role technology-based evidence will play.
In this case, it
seems justice* has prevailed.'
Source:
'xxxxxx trial: How common is death by falling?' OPINION
Terry Goldsworthy is an Assistant Professor in Criminology at Bond University and a former Surfers Paradise senior detective.
*I can only assume that this is thinly veiled sarcasm by AP Goldsworthy.
xxxxxx = That Which Shall Not Be Named (by me anyway). Clever; not?
lease:
