Judge tells jurors in Gable Tostee murder trial to focus on his actions
THE jury in the Gable Tostee trial has adjourned for lunch after resuming deliberations into the alleged murder of Kiwi tourist Warriena Wright.
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THE jury in the Gable Tostee trial has adjourned for lunch after resuming deliberations this morning.
They will resume deliberations after lunch at 2.30pm.
It comes a day after jurors in the murder trial were told only to focus on what the accused killer did, not what he said.
On the third day of considering whether Tostee murdered New Zealand tourist Warriena Wright, the jury returned to the Supreme Court in Brisbane about 2.30pm yesterday with its fourth note to Justice John Byrne.
Jurors asked: “If language is to be considered as force?”
Justice Byrne said the “short answer is no”.
Tostee has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Wright. Justice Byrne told the jury it needed to be concerned with physical force when considering whether to exclude potential defences.
He said the prosecution had not suggested the jury could “exclude any of the four defences raised” that concerned the use of force by relying on what Tostee said, “as distinct from what he did, in the three particularised episodes”.
The Crown has previously alleged Tostee used unreasonable force in restraining Ms Wright and putting her on the 14th-floor balcony from which she fell on August 8, 2014.
Defence barrister Saul Holt QC has relied on defences including self-defence, removal of a disorderly person from a property, preventing a repetition of insult and defence of property.
He said Tostee did not use unreasonable force to restrain and remove Ms Wright from his property.
On Tuesday, the jury told Justice Byrne it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict “after trying many times”. Justice Byrne said the jurors could take “as long as they wished”.
He said he would only discharge them if there was “no likelihood” of a result being returned.
Earlier on Tuesday 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 said it “did not matter” when Ms Wright became disorderly, only whether or not force used to restrain her was reasonable.
“You have to look at whether he used more force than was reasonably necessary ... that is because the defence is available for any of the particularised acts, it is available for all three.”
The acts the Crown alleges constitute Ms Wright being intimidated include the struggle between the pair, putting Ms Wright on the balcony and locking the door.
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.
The jury also asked several questions in a note on Monday.
Ms Wright met Tostee on the dating app Tinder on August 1 while in Australia to attend a friend’s wedding.
The pair met in person on the evening of August 7 in Cavill Ave before going to Tostee’s unit at the Avalon Apartments.
The trial will continue today after the jury was sent home shortly after 6pm yesterday.
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