Australia - Warriena Wright, 26, dies in balcony fall, Surfers Paradise, Aug 2014 #11

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I was reading through some coronial inquest findings (thanks Trooper for posting that link... I'm addicted to reading them now!) and I saw this balcony death. I haven't finished reading it yet but thought I'd post the link :)

"Summary

On 14 May 2013 Ms Humm and her boyfriend, identified for the purpose of these findings as Mr A, were staying in Room 403 at Rydges Tradewinds, Cairns.

They had met up that day in Cairns and were staying together at Rydges for the night as Ms Humm was to have an eye operation at the Cairns Base Hospital the following day and Mr A was there to support her.

Ms Humm and Mr A spent the afternoon and early evening at the Courthouse Hotel. They returned to Rydges separately but within a couple of minutes of each other and they entered their room at 10.13pm.

At about 10.20pm an employee heard something hit the ground and another employee went to investigate and found Ms Humm at the bottom of the stairwell under her fourth floor balcony. She was obviously deceased. Queensland Ambulance officers attended and pronounced Ms Humm deceased at the scene. "

http://www.courts.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/261704/cif-humm-dl-20140529.pdf
 
Karinna said:
I would imagine that the charge of Murder/Manslaughter on GT was charged by police who determined they had charged him on the evidence they obtained. I'm not sure what Australia's equivalent is of a Grand Jury determining if the case was enough to proceed with going to Trial? But there was some type of preliminary hearing that determined that, so one would think there was more than enough evidence, but that doesn't seem to be the case because so very little of the evidence was allowed admissable by the judge when it came to what the jurors were allowed to deliberate on. It's very odd to me.
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I believe that the prosecutor has to agree with the charge, before it can go forward. S/he is the one who will be trying the case.
 
Estelle said:
How much would his court case have cost?
Click to expand...

If however you have been charged with murder and you are facing a trial in the Supreme Court, your legal fees could easily be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars as you would want the best lawyers you could afford defending you.
..... if a lawyer's hourly rate is $250 per hour ....
http://www.harperfinch.com.au/blog/how-much-does-a-criminal-lawyer-cost


And on top of that, the cost to the general public ...

On average, running a trial in an Australian superior court is believed to cost about $10,000 per day and an analysis of the Victorian court systems in 2008 estimated that the facilities of a Supreme Court cost about $645 per hour (a figure that does not include the prosecution's preparation costs or the accused's legal expenses).
http://www.smh.com.au/national/weighing-price-of-justice-20130310-2ftyp.html
 
SouthAussie said:
If however you have been charged with murder and you are facing a trial in the Supreme Court, your legal fees could easily be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars as you would want the best lawyers you could afford defending you.
..... if a lawyer's hourly rate is $250 per hour ....
http://www.harperfinch.com.au/blog/how-much-does-a-criminal-lawyer-cost


And on top of that, the cost to the general public ...

On average, running a trial in an Australian superior court is believed to cost about $10,000 per day and an analysis of the Victorian court systems in 2008 estimated that the facilities of a Supreme Court cost about $645 per hour (a figure that does not include the prosecution's preparation costs or the accused's legal expenses).
http://www.smh.com.au/national/weighing-price-of-justice-20130310-2ftyp.html
Click to expand...

Possibly in the range of $2-300,000 for Tostee? Therefore, he would possibly be very tempted to sell his story if he is offered anything over $100.000 IMO. He might hold out for $200,000 but would advertisers be interested?
 
Freya1977 said:
I was reading through some coronial inquest findings (thanks Trooper for posting that link... I'm addicted to reading them now!) and I saw this balcony death. I haven't finished reading it yet but thought I'd post the link :)

"Summary

On 14 May 2013 Ms Humm and her boyfriend, identified for the purpose of these findings as Mr A, were staying in Room 403 at Rydges Tradewinds, Cairns.

They had met up that day in Cairns and were staying together at Rydges for the night as Ms Humm was to have an eye operation at the Cairns Base Hospital the following day and Mr A was there to support her.

Ms Humm and Mr A spent the afternoon and early evening at the Courthouse Hotel. They returned to Rydges separately but within a couple of minutes of each other and they entered their room at 10.13pm.

At about 10.20pm an employee heard something hit the ground and another employee went to investigate and found Ms Humm at the bottom of the stairwell under her fourth floor balcony. She was obviously deceased. Queensland Ambulance officers attended and pronounced Ms Humm deceased at the scene. "

http://www.courts.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/261704/cif-humm-dl-20140529.pdf
Click to expand...

This was a very interesting case. It appeared to me that she must have been suicidal so got drunk all day to give her courage and asked her partner to push her off the balcony as she could not do it herself. When she said, "Go ahead" to Mr A, I predicted that he could have been assisting in her suicide by pushing her off the balcony but it was viewed by the Coroner as a suicide.He concluded Ms Humm was capable of propelling herself that distance, landing about 2.5m away from the balcony, but couldn’t rule out that a third party was involved. However, the Coroner ruled that it was suicide.
 
Estelle said:
Possibly in the range of $2-300,000 for Tostee? Therefore, he would possibly be very tempted to sell his story if he is offered anything over $100.000 IMO. He might hold out for $200,000 but would advertisers be interested?
Click to expand...

Yes, I think that's the figure he'll be 'shopping it around' for. It wouldn't be worth his time otherwise.

He wants to be extremely wary, though, as we all know what happened to Ant Ric when he attempted to sell his 'story'. Most MSM outlets have shown that they are not interested in being his advocate, nor do they take kindly to attempts at being manipulated.

This particular 'media circus' is going to be interesting. *walks away singing* 'But where are the clowns? Quick, send in the clowns. Don't bother, they're here.'
 
BigT said:
was the correct charge preferred? What if a charge of a culpable homicide was preferred, and the evidence adduced that GT had abandoned any care for the guest in his premises......http://www.sclqld.org.au/caselaw/criminal-codes-appellate-decisions/legislation/65
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I am not a lawyer, T, but I must admit I find it strange that a 'lesser' charge wasn't preferred. I wonder why the ODPP went for the 'biggie' when they presented so little evidence at trial? Do you have any thoughts on this?
 
  • 'xxxxx xxxxxx wrote a 2,300-word defence months after Tinder death
    [*]Warriena Wright fell from his 14th floor Gold Coast balcony in 2014
    [*]xxxxxx, 30, recounted her death and explained why he recorded audio'
'xxxxx xxxxxx wrote a bizarre 2,300-word defence just months after his Tinder date fell to her death.

His blog post, called 'regarding the balcony tragedy' and posted on an online bodybuilding forum, was never heard by the Brisbane Supreme Court jury.

Nor did the trial hear from xxxxxx himself, who exercised his right to not give evidence.

But in October 2014, the carpet layer, 30, recounted the moment Warriena Wright plunged from his 14th floor Gold Coast balcony that August, and even attempted to explain why he recorded audio of their date.'

'He described seeing Warriena disappear out of view from his balcony railing after he locked her out.

'After shutting the door I turned my back and retreated, and literally about 10 seconds later when I turned around and looked through the glass I only briefly for a fraction of a second saw Warriena on the other side of the railing before she disappeared out of view,' xxxxxx said.

'At the time I couldn't tell if she had fallen or climbed down to another floor. All I knew was that she was no longer there.''

'He said he 'quickly realised that it would be extremely foolish to go back out on the balcony in case she had indeed fallen and someone saw me standing near the edge'.

'I did not 'flee' the scene,' xxxxxx said. 'I went downstairs to see if I could find out what happened. When I reached the lobby I saw flashing emergency lights coming from outside. At this point it dawned on me that something serious had happened. I was terrified, exhausted, intoxicated, and quite disorientated and all I wanted to do was get advice. I knew if I walked into police I could have been held under suspicion without legal representation, a situation nobody would want to be in. I resorted to leaving the building and calling my Dad.''

'Audio recording shows xxxxxx called his father one hour after Warriena's death. He had ordered and eaten pizza shortly before phoning his father.

'He said it pained him 'to think of the loss and suffering' Warriena's family must be experiencing.

xxxxxx claimed media had attempted to make him appear 'an evil monster', a portrayal he said 'could not be further from the truth'.

Even those who believed in his innocence, he said, succumbed 'to the media portrayal of me as a creepy, disrespectful, or otherwise unsavoury character'.

Source: 'At the time I couldn't tell if she had fallen': xxxxx xxxxxx'x post on a bodybuilding forum after he was charged over the death of Warriena Wright
 
Bohemian said:
Could someone with a sub to the Courier-Mail pull up this article and write a precis, please?

xxxxx xxxxxx murder trial: Sister's tears for Warriena Wright: The most important person in my life

My sub has run out and I'm on-shift. TIA. :loveyou:
Click to expand...

Never mind, I found an alternate article:

'IN THE midst of a murder trial, where, in the cold, sterile setting of a courtroom, the finger of blame is being pointed and deflected, it is easy to forget, at the centre of it all, the true tragedy.

That a real person, a much-loved sister, daughter and best friend, has lost her life.'

'We heard little of Warriena, the 26-year-old New Zealander, during the Brisbane Supreme Court trial of her accused killer.'

'We did not hear that Ms Wright, known as Rrie to her friends and family, was an animal lover, and passionate animal rights activist.'

'“My sister was the most important person in my world,” Reza Wright said through tears in August, 2014, days after Warriena plummeted to her death.

On the morning Ms Wright died, Reza, now 25, lost her best friend.

Soon after her death, Reza said she and her sister were largely estranged from their parents, which made their bond even tighter than those of normal sisters.

It was just the two of them against the world.

“We really only had each other. She looked after me and always made sure that I was OK and she was really responsible as well,” she said.

Reza said Ms Wright also took care of their mother Merzabeth, who also travelled to Brisbane for xxxxxx’x trial.'

'Reza was the first witness to give evidence last week.

The pain of her loss seemed to have dulled little in the two years since her sister died.'

'She said Warriena was a private person, who hated attention, who loved animals and practical jokes.

“Rrie was a strong supporter for animal rights and protection and stood by her convictions,” she said.'

'“Rrie was always a funny practical joker who constantly kept my friends entertained and happy.”'

'[Rrie's mother, Mrs Wright] said she would return to New Zealand to continue mourning her eldest child, and wished to be left alone to do so in private.

“The media have hurt me so bad. When this is over I will go back to New Zealand. I want to be left alone. Please respect my privacy, I will not talk to anybody; just leave our family in peace,” she said.

Source: Sister of balcony fall victim Warriena Wright says she’s lost her best friend
 
Bohemian said:
I am not a lawyer, T, but I must admit I find it strange that a 'lesser' charge wasn't preferred. I wonder why the ODPP went for the 'biggie' when they presented so little evidence at trial? Do you have any thoughts on this?
Click to expand...
Qld Police generally don't bother trying to prove manslaughter because it is easier for them to just allege murder, and then let the defence prove manslaughter facilitated by Sec 304(7) of the QCC. With any murder charge, manslaughter is thus automatically on the table if the murder charge is unsustainable.
 
fairydust said:
Qld Police generally don't bother trying to prove manslaughter because it is easier for them to just allege murder, and then let the defence prove manslaughter facilitated by Sec 304(7) of the QCC. With any murder charge, manslaughter is thus automatically on the table if the murder charge is unsustainable.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the explanation but I wondered why the ODPP decided to try the accused for murder or manslaughter rather than another offence, say; equivalent to negligent or culpable homicide, or deprivation of liberty, in this particular case? Being mindful of my scant knowledge of Queensland law, I will not enter into a legal debate. A plain English answer would be appreciated, supported by the relevant link; of course. ;)
 
Discuss the case and not each other.

Posts designed to incite conflict in the thread (and responses to them) have been removed. Posters who incite conflict are subject to loss of posting privileges.
 
".... remember, the prosecution alleged he choked her. If the answer is "yes"- then they can return a verdict of murder, says Gallavin.

Still confusing? It's all about the mindset, he explains.

"So, we have to delve somewhat into their minds to see whether her actions were foreseeable ... if she was genuinely fleeing a threat, and it was temporally and within proximity. In other words she didn't run half an hour away and then die, and it was foreseeable then, bingo."

In New Zealand it would be manslaughter unless, looking at the nature of the threat, one could say it was either effectively an intention to kill, he wanted to kill her but just didn't get a chance as she jumped, or he intended to cause her bodily injury and was reckless as to whether death ensued.

"I know with the latter it sounds the same as 'he foresaw' but there are important differences. For causation it can be objective - you and I decide in the cold light of day. For murder it must have been on his mind."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/austra...-jury-struggle-for-so-long-to-reach-a-verdict
 
..........Taken from Big Footy - 'AWARE' being the writer 4. In my opinion we have not heard the last of this case by a long chalk. Tostee is sitting on a gold-mine. I suspect he will be feted right now for media appearances/interviews. I also believe there may the possibility for legal action to be taken against certain media outlets for defamation. I also think he has possible grounds to mount a civil lawsuit against Qld Police and/or the Office of Dept of Public Prosecutions for malicious prosecution, particularly in view of being falsely incarcerated for three months because of a transcript which appeared to be 'doctored' with errors and cherry picked items designed to make him look guilty in the eyes of a bail judge.

..............bet WW's family won't see any of his $$$$$$. His day will come.
 
Better call Saul: Gable Tostee's Kiwi lawyer labels courtroom verdict drama the craziest thing he's experienced

The last 90 minutes of dramatic courtroom theatre before Saul Holt QC's client Gable Tostee learned his fate was something the veteran lawyer says he has never experienced before - and may never experience again.

The verdict was delayed as a juror was investigated for outing herself as sitting on Instagram during the case, and Holt's team called for a mistrial.

Then, the Instagram revelation was leaked to the public by a live-tweeting mystery blonde, the verdict came in acquitting his client, and Justice John Byrne revealed to the surprised jury one among their number had almost derailed the whole trial.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/austra...rdict-drama-as-craziest-thing-hes-experienced
 
EXCLUSIVE: 'All Gable ever does is read about himself!' The New Zealand-born blonde comforting Gable Tostee - as he takes to Snapchat days after being cleared of Tinder date murder


Daily Mail Australia can reveal New Zealand woman Lizzi Evans was the 30-year-old Gold Coast carpet layer's shoulder to cry on during his two-week trial
 
Amee said:
At the weekend, she even posted a late-night video to social media of 'Gable' reading news stories about himself.


A wry Mr Tostee turns and tells the camera: 'I'm not up myself or anything.'
​
Click to expand...

So self absorbed... So not affected by this whole experience like the everyday person would be. And her posting that... Tacky.
 
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