Gable Tostee jurors told ‘keep trying’ to reach verdict over Gold Coast death of Warriena Wright
JURORS deliberating in the Gable Tostee trial have been sent home for another night after failing to reach a verdict
Crime and Court
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UPDATE: Jurors in the trial of accused Tinder-date murderer Gable Tostee have
been excused for the day.
The jury indicted they wished to go home at about 6pm, after deliberating the Gold Coast carpet layer’s fate since Monday afternoon.
The jury will return at 9.30am tomorrow morning to continue considering a verdict.
EARLIER: The jury in the Gable Tostee murder trial has returned to the courtroom seeking yet more directions during their third day of deliberations.
After a whole day deliberating they returned about 3.30pm with another note where they asked “if language is to be considered as force?”
Justice John Byrne told the jury the “short answer to the question was no”.
He told them they need only be concerned with physical force when considering whether to exclude defences of self defence, removal of a disorderly person from a property and preventing a repeated insult.
The crown have previously allegedly Tostee used unreasonable force in restraining Ms Wright and putting her on the balcony, which she fell from.
The jury is in its third day of deliberations after previously stating they were struggling to reach a unanimous verdict.
Tostee arrived at the Brisbane Supreme Court this morning.
Jurors were urged to take as “long as they wished”, despite yesterday telling the judge they “cannot reach a verdict after trying many times”.
The jury of six men and six women, in a note to Brisbane Supreme Court Justice John Byrne, asked for advice after being unable to agree on whether Tostee killed New Zealand tourist Warriena Wright.
Ms Wright fell from the 14th-floor balcony of Tostee’s Surfers Paradise apartment in the early hours of August 8, 2014.
“At this stage we cannot reach a verdict after trying many times,” the jury said through their note.
“We ask the judge for advice on how to proceed.”
The jury retired about 12.30pm on Monday.
Justice Byrne told the jurors they could take “as long as they wished” to reach a decision.
He said he would only discharge them if there was “no likelihood” of a result.
“In my experience ... juries are able to agree ... eventually,” Justice Byrne said.
“For that reason judges typically do as I am about to do and request juries re-examine the matters and make a further attempt to reach the verdict.
“I ask you to please retire again and see whether you can reach a verdict.”
The note was the second delivered to the judge within an hour yesterday.
Earlier, the jury asked for direction about whether it was relevant at which stage in the evening Ms Wright allegedly became “disorderly” and capable of being removed from Tostee’s home lawfully.
Justice Byrne told the jury it “did not matter” when Ms Wright became disorderly, only whether or not force used to restrain her was reasonable.
The jury also asked whether a homeowner’s right to remove someone who is behaving disorderly would include putting a person on to a balcony. “The answer is yes,” Justice Byrne said.
Yesterday morning the jury was told the answers to questions they asked in a note on Monday. They sought clarification on Tostee’s age and whether Ms Wright’s state of mind and level of intoxication when she climbed over Tostee’s 14th-floor balcony was relevant to their deliberations.
They also asked what Tostee was carrying as he left his apartment after Ms Wright had fallen and a summary of key points relating to causation, unlawfulness and intent.
Justice Byrne told the jury Tostee’s age and what he was carrying in the CCTV footage were not relevant.
In answer to the question about Ms Wright’s intoxication, Justice Byrne said Ms Wright’s level of intoxication when she climbed over the balcony was a factor to be considered when determining whether her conduct at that time was “unreasonable or irrational or disproportionate”.
“A jury of your accumulated experience of life scarcely needs a judge to point out excessive consumption of alcohol impairs judgment,” Justice Byrne said.
At 5.20pm yesterday the jury asked to be excused for the day. They will continue deliberating today.
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