GUILTY Australia - Lisa Harnum, 30, killed in 15-storey fall, Sydney, 30 July 2011 #1

[enzeder]

SouthAussie...we're allowing discussion of the accused's history because it's a judge only trial...no jury so it can't be tainted

EveD posted the "history" links back on page 3

Here are the posts with links to articles that mention the history of violence.

The crown told the court Mr Gittany had a "history of violent offences", including malicious wounding and assaulting police, for which he was sentenced to two years' periodic detention. He had breached his parole conditions. - See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...y-e6frg6nf-1226107755585#sthash.YRzzFCNJ.dpuf

He also disputed police claims that Mr Gittany had a history of domestic violence.

But the court heard Mr Gittany allegedly broke Ms Harnum's finger last year, though she did not report the incident to police.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/man-accus...y-gets-bail-20120119-1q7iy.html#ixzz2iY6NX4hH

 

[marlywings]

Yes, I'd really like to know what these so called "health products" were exactly although I do have my suspicions. :silenced:

When researching "health products for fitness fanatics" an interesting recent report out of UK....

5th October, 2013

FITNESS fanatics are being warned about potentially dangerous food supplements which claim to burn body fat, but contain harmful industrial chemicals.
Certain types of the products, which are mainly marketed at bodybuilders and those wishing to lose weight quickly, have been found to contain a substance known as 2,4 Dinitrophenol, or DNP
The supplements are usually sold on the internet and can be tablets, capsules or powder

http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/...ics-over-dangerous-food-supplements-1-6116328

 

[marlywings]

On a different note, I notice the case was at court on Monday although there doesn't appear to be any reports from then which seems a bit odd.

It's listed again for tomorrow so I guess we'll see what comes out of that.

30/10/2013

Justice L McCallum
1
Trial
10:00 AM
2011/00250258
R v Simon Gittany

http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/court...53809cca22db1d99ca257c1300164ce1?OpenDocument

 

[marlywings]

October 23, 2013

Ms Richmond said Gittany had one of his friends handle her immigration papers and when she tried to leave him, he told her he could get her deported immediately.

"He told her that she would leave with nothing, not even her underwear," Ms Richmond said.

Ms Harnum didn't know what her fiance did for a living or where he went when he went out, the court heard.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/10/23/13/03/balcony-death-fiance-made-deport-threats

 

[enzeder]

October 23, 2013

Ms Richmond said Gittany had one of his friends handle her immigration papers and when she tried to leave him, he told her he could get her deported immediately.

"He told her that she would leave with nothing, not even her underwear," Ms Richmond said.

Ms Harnum didn't know what her fiance did for a living or where he went when he went out, the court heard.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/10/23/13/03/balcony-death-fiance-made-deport-threats

BBM

Uh huh - now, why am I not in the least surprised about that!.

 

[SouthAussie]

Just some random notes after watching the video in which the accused is "shouting encouragement" to Lisa.

The accused worked for a company that delivers health products to fitness fanatics.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...r-was-she-pushed/story-fni0cx12-1226747183885

What type of products exactly I wonder. "delivered"..... by what means, post?? delivery truck??

Legal?? perhaps sold via internet??

It must have been a well paying job for him to live in a multimillion dollar apartment.

His request for legal aid was declined.... the accused failed the assets test.

I wonder if his "delivery" job was investigated.

A proposed expert in eating disorders who will be asked to give an opinion as to whether the deceased was suffering from an eating disorder at the time of her death and whether that is likely to have contributed to a decision to act as the accused says she did.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/s...03.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=simon gittany

I imagine a toxicology exam was done on Lisa. I wonder about the results.

BBM

Interesting that your 'austlii.edu.au' link has now disappeared, marly. You posted it less than 12 hours ago!

I guess we are providing a good venue for others to see what we are talking about in regard to this case, and make sure they clear up all those pesky little internet links that may be inflammatory to them. :seeya:

Maybe the link providers need to be contacted about their 'disappearing' links. It seems to me that a very controlling person is trying to control the public opinions in this case - as if we aren't entitled to our own opinions in our free democratic society, where women actually count as people!!!

 

[SouthAussie]

"For the ‘exceptional circumstances’ test it tends to be a combination of circumstances that are ‘unusual and out of the ordinary’. This may include a combination of: a weak Crown case, the need for medical treatment, the need to instruct counsel, and exceptional community ties with minimal risk of causing harm."

“Bail should not be granted in murder cases unless there are exceptional circumstances. That will now be the law. Exceptional circumstances might justify bail when the prosecution case is very weak or when the court is satisfied that the person poses no threat to the safety of anyone.”

http://www.lpclrd.lawlink.nsw.gov.a...uments/pdf/review_of_bail_in_nsw_oct_2010.pdf

 

[SouthAussie]

I have a lot of faith in Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi ...

"He is the Senior Crown Prosecutor for New South Wales and the Head of Chambers of the 84 Crown Prosecutors.He is the founder and president of the Australian Association of Crown Prosecutors ..."

"As a prosecutor, Tedeschi is best known for the prosecution of numerous high-profile cases in Australia including the 2006 conviction of Dr. Suman Sood for illegal abortion and the Backpacker Murders committed by Ivan Milat in the 1990s."

"Tedeschi successfully prosecuted Chew Seng Liew and Choon Tee Lim for the 1991 shooting death of prominent Australian heart surgeon Victor Chang."

"Tedeschi prosecuted Phuong Ngo for the assassination of Australian Parliament Member John Newman. This was the first assassination in Australia's history and the trial ended in two mistrials before Ngo was found guilty of the murder in 2001."

He is a man who stays with it, despite the occasional mistrial, that he has then tried again (and again) to ensure justice is served.


You are going down for Lisa's murder, SG !!! (IMO)

http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Tedeschi


(as an aside, Mark Tedeschi is also a very talented photographer, and a true crime author .... http://www.marktedeschi.com/ )

 

[EveD]

BBM

Interesting that your 'austlii.edu.au' link has now disappeared, marly. You posted it less than 12 hours ago!

Austlii link works for me.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/s...03.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=simon gittany

 

[enzeder]

BBM

Interesting that your 'austlii.edu.au' link has now disappeared, marly. You posted it less than 12 hours ago!

I guess we are providing a good venue for others to see what we are talking about in regard to this case, and make sure they clear up all those pesky little internet links that may be inflammatory to them. :seeya:

Maybe the link providers need to be contacted about their 'disappearing' links. It seems to me that a very controlling person is trying to control the public opinions in this case - as if we aren't entitled to our own opinions in our free democratic society, where women actually count as people!!!

The link is working now SouthAussie.

Supreme Court of New South Wales - R v Gittany [2013] NSWSC 1503 (14 October 2013)
http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/s...03.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=simon gittany

 

[EveD]

Is there anyone here who actually has some legal knowledge or background? Just wondering their take on the trial by judge alone. I understand that there have to be 'exceptional circumstances' and the reason given in the media is that SG was running out of money. But from a totally IMPARTIAL point of view, not making any presumption as to guilt etc, but taking into account the negative publicity this case has, plus some of the negative statements made by various witnesses (counselor, personal trainer etc) - to me it would make sense that he would want a trial by judge alone (rather than by jury). I imagine that 'Guilty beyond reasonable doubt' outcome would be more likely with a jury than with judge alone as I imagine that a judge would be able to separate the trial publicity from the facts of the case more easily than a jury of peers. Just my opinion but I would really like other people's opinions.

 

[enzeder]

:waitasec:

Two different lawyers, two different stories, then there's the accused's version

August 04, 2011

Gittany's barrister, David Price: "She had climbed over the balcony"

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...eath-fall-murder/story-e6freuzi-1226107744413

September 30, 2011

Gittany's barrister, Robert Richter QC: the woman was a ballerina - and she could easily have leapt on to the balcony railing.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...death-court-told/story-e6freuzi-1226152337861

The accused stated he was then in the kitchen and saw Ms Harnum run to the balcony and step over the railing onto an outer ledge

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/s...03.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=simon gittany

One would think they'd at least try to get their stories straight!

I don't believe that Lisa climbed, leapt or stepped over the balcony. Going over again what the witness JR said, - "''It was being held horizontally in the man's arms. His arms were outstretched with the object lying across,'' he said." - I'm now wondering if Lisa was unconscious when she went over that balcony. In my mind there's no way that she would just lay there horizontally in SG arms by choice. She would be fighting for her life imo.

October 24, 2013

Mr Rathmell is now a crucial witness in the trial of Simon Gittany, the 40-year-old Sydney man accused of murdering his fiancee Lisa Cecilia Harnum by dropping her from the balcony of their 15th floor apartment in July 2011.

He told the Supreme Court on Thursday that he was walking through Hyde Park on the way to his job as a news producer at the ABC when he witnessed the incident.

''It was being held horizontally in the man's arms. His arms were outstretched with the object lying across,'' he said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/witness-h...g-body-fall-20131024-2w327.html#ixzz2jAt4R0YU

 

[SouthAussie]

Austlii link works for me.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/s...03.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=simon gittany

Thanks for attaching the pdf EveD. Believe it or not, just checked and it is still gone for me! I get a 410 Gone response.

"Gone
The requested resource
/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/nsw/NSWSC/2013/1503.html
is no longer available on this server and there is no forwarding address. Please remove all references to this resource.

Apache Server at www.austlii.edu.au Port 80"

How weird! Will have to see if I can find out why.

 

[marlywings]

Is there anyone here who actually has some legal knowledge or background? Just wondering their take on the trial by judge alone. I understand that there have to be 'exceptional circumstances' and the reason given in the media is that SG was running out of money. But from a totally IMPARTIAL point of view, not making any presumption as to guilt etc, but taking into account the negative publicity this case has, plus some of the negative statements made by various witnesses (counselor, personal trainer etc) - to me it would make sense that he would want a trial by judge alone (rather than by jury). I imagine that 'Guilty beyond reasonable doubt' outcome would be more likely with a jury than with judge alone as I imagine that a judge would be able to separate the trial publicity from the facts of the case more easily than a jury of peers. Just my opinion but I would really like other people's opinions.

In the austlii link the judge goes in to quite a bit of detail about how the decision was reached for it to be a judge only trial. It seems it was mainly because of time & money. But there were other factors which played a part as well, one witness wouldn't have been able to give evidence as he was moving to US.

Also, back in 2010-11 when the laws were changed to allow more judge only trials, there were quite a lot of reports about it at the time.

6-1-2011
Twelve angry peers or one angry judge: An analysis
of judge alone trials in Australia

http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1406&context=law_pubs

Jury out on judge trials

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/jury-out-on-judge-trials/story-e6freuy9-1226105566148

December 16, 2011

McClellan has been keen for some time to get rid of jurors from their last remaining foothold in the civil area - defamation cases - and now he's widening his argument against them trying criminals, or people accused of crimes.

Startlingly, he says only about 3 per cent of all criminal trials in NSW are conducted with a jury.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...-bubble-protecting-juries-20111215-1owts.html

 

[marlywings]

Thanks for attaching the pdf EveD. Believe it or not, just checked and it is still gone for me! I get a 410 Gone response.

"Gone
The requested resource
/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/nsw/NSWSC/2013/1503.html
is no longer available on this server and there is no forwarding address. Please remove all references to this resource.

Apache Server at www.austlii.edu.au Port 80"

How weird! Will have to see if I can find out why.

I'm not sure what your problem is SouthAussie but it does seem as though you've not copied the entire link??

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/s...03.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=simon gittany

 

[SouthAussie]

I'm not sure what your problem is SouthAussie but it does seem as though you've not copied the entire link??

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/s...03.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=simon gittany

Just clicking on the link as always ... but I can't even get onto the main austlii.edu.au site either. My internet security program is not giving it a safe rating either (not giving it any rating at all - which is unusual for a bona fide website).

Will ask my SIL later, he's an IT security guy - may have to enable the site through my internet security program perhaps.

Thanks anyway marly .. I'll get it figured out somehow. :sigh:

 

[enzeder]

NSW woman's death scream mistaken for bird

30 OCT 2013

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/10/30/nsw-womans-death-scream-mistaken-bird

 

[enzeder]

I'm not in the least bit surprised that "two security cameras within the unit did not record the 69 seconds between Ms Harnum being dragged from the door and plunging to her death" - Makes me wonder if he forgot to disable the camera recording the hallway. oops? imo

BBM

Balcony death accused told officers to check security cameras, police allege

October 30, 2013

But within minutes of being told his partner was dead, he allegedly told police to check the cameras inside their unit on the 15th floor.

"The NSW Supreme Court heard he told one officer, “I hope the cameras in the unit work”.

He then allegedly told a second officer, “Just check the cameras”.

Security footage from a hallway captures the Candian born woman being dragged back into her unit as she tried to leave on the morning of July 30, 2011.

But two security cameras within the unit did not record the 69 seconds between Ms Harnum being dragged from the door and plunging to her death."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/balcony-d...lice-allege-20131030-2whag.html#ixzz2jBzGra00

 

[SouthAussie]

"Gittany's lawyer, Elias Tabchouri, said the witness's evidence could not be relied upon, as it was seen from a distance and through trees.

"He doesn't see a human; (he sees) luggage. There's a big difference," Mr Tabchouri said, placing a large black suitcase on a desk to illustrate the point."

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2012/10/10/18/05/accused-sydney-balcony-killer-granted-bail


"Radio producer Joshua Rathmell was walking to work in Sydney when he looked up after hearing a 'deranged scream' come from the high rise building above.

He then saw a man 'load' what he thought was a duffel bag over the balcony, before calmly walking back into the flat."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ng-fianc-Lisa-Harnum-death.html#ixzz2jCk1piJ2


I guess the defence lawyer doesn't know what a duffel bag looks like.

 

[enzeder]

Lisa Harnum​

http://evanzlatkis.wordpress.com/page/3/