- Gable Tostee was acquitted of the murder and manslaughter of Warriena Wright, 26, on Thursday
- The jury of six men and six women deliberated for 14 hours into the fourth day
- Justice John Byrne scolded a juror who had posted to Instagram throughout the trial
- New Zealand tourist Ms Wright, 26, fell from Tostee's 14th floor Gold Coast balcony in August 2014
Gable Tostee took a deep breath, clapped his hands together and put his head in hands as he was acquitted of the murder of Warriena Wright.
The jury handed down a not guilty verdict more than two years after Ms Wright, 26, plunged to her death from the Tostee's 14th floor balcony in Surfers Paradise.
The Gold Coast carpet layer, 30, appeared visibly relieved as the verdict was read to the court on Thursday.
He took a deep breath clapped his hands once, shook hands with his lawyer, Nick Dore, and then put his head in his hands in relief.
A sharp intake of breath could be heard from Tostee's family as he was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter, after a tense four days of deliberations.
Ms Wright's mother, Merzabeth 'Beth' Tagpuno, hugged her supporters and the family quickly filed out of the court room.
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Gable Tostee, 30, is pictured leaving the Brisbane Supreme Court after he was acquitted on Thursday
The carpet layer was found not guilty of the murder and manslaughter of Warriena Wright, 26, on Thursday
Tostee, 30, has been on trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court New Zealand over the death of tourist Warriena Wright (pictured with Tostee) in the early hours of August 8, 2014
Tostee walks a free man on Thursday after being acq uitted of murder and manslaughter
Thursday's decision didn't come without controversy.
Justice John Byrne informed the jury that an investigation had been launched after a female member of the jury posted to her Instagram account.
'That juror will discover when she accesses her Instagram account that many members of the public have commented on her decision to communicate,' Justice Byrne told the jury.
A statement was read on behalf of the Wright family on Thursday afternoon outside court.
'This has been an incredibly traumatic situation for everyone involved in this case, let alone the families who've been impacted by this,' the statement said.
'Warriena Wright's family are still coming to terms with the loss of their daughter and their sister, as well as enduring the anguish of being present here for this trial the last two weeks, and they've been quite overwhelmed by the media which has added another layer of stress to the trauma they've already been experiencing.'
The family requested privacy 'so they have an opportunity to put the pieces of their own life back together again' and grieve in their own way and in peace.
Family members of Warriena Wright leave Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday after Tostee was acquitted over her death
Ms Wright's family leave court after hearing the not guilty verdict
Tostee is pictured leaving the Brisbane Supreme Court after he was found not guilty
Ms Wright's mother, Beth, had blasted the media and the judge for released the audio of her daughter's death to the public.
'I did not want to hear my daughter screaming: 'No, no, no, no, no',' Ms Tagpuno said in a statement midway through the high-profile trial.
Her comments, released last Thursday, could not be published in Queensland until after the jury reached a verdict because they could have influenced the outcome of the trial.
The mother, who travelled from New Zealand to hear the trial, said the media had made the trip the 'most saddest, hardest' she had ever had to endure.
'I asked not to release the audio tape yet I was overruled by the judge,' the statement said.
Tostee and Ms Wright are pictured together the night she plunged 14 floors to her death
Tostee appeared relieved on Thursday after he was acquitted of both possible charges
'I did not want to remember her like that.
'I feel my family has been disrespected by the judge's ruling to release the audio tape to the media.'
Ms Tagpuno said she would not speak to media after the trial and asked for her privacy to be respected once she returned to New Zealand.
'To those who want an exclusive from my family we say 'no',' she said.
'The judge gave you everything, that is enough.
'The media has hurt me so bad.
'I will not speak to anybody, just leave our family in peace.'
Lawyer Nick Dore (right) smiles as Tostee leaves the Brisbane Supreme Court
A jury of six men and six women deliberated for 14 hours until the not guilty verdict was read on Thursday
The jury had asked Justice Byrne questions throughout their long-winded deliberation.
The first four questions asked what age Gable Tostee was at the time of the alleged offence, what the long metal object Tostee was carrying in CCTV footage after Ms Wright fell, whether they should consider Ms Wright's alcohol consumption and the definitions of 'causation', 'unlawfulness' and intent'.
The jury asked two fur ther questions on Tuesday, asking whether Mr Tostee putting Ms Wright onto his balcony constituted removing her from the property and at which point in the audio recording Mr Tostee was regarded to have removed a disorderly person from his property.
Tostee was acquitted of all charges on Thursday
Tostee was found not guilty on Thursday on the fourth day of deliberations
Their final question, asked on Wednesday afternoon, was: 'Is language considered force?' Justice Byrne said language could not be considered force.
A key piece of evidence in the trial was more than three hours of audio recorded by Mr Tostee during the night, which included the moment she plummeted off the balcony.
In it, Tostee can be heard restraining Ms Wright and telling her 'you're lucky I haven't chucked you off my balcony you God damn psycho little bitch'.
Warriena Wright, 26, fell to her death from Tostee's 14th floor balcony in August 2014
Tostee is pictured leaving the Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday after being handed a not guilty verdict
The audio revealed the tourist had screamed 'no' 33 times before she died.
During the t rial, prosecutors did not suggest Mr Tostee threw or pushed Ms Wright off the balcony.
Rather, barrister Glen Cash QC told the court Mr Tostee caused her death by intimidating her to the point where she had no way to escape him except by trying to climb down to a balcony below.
Mr Tostee's defence barrister Saul Holt QC told the jury in his closing address that Ms Wright had been violent and described her behaviour as 'out of control'.
He pointed to evidence from a forensic pathologist, who found her blood alcohol level was more than thre e times the limit.
'She made a decision, I have to put it this way, to climb to certain death,' Mr Holt said.
Mr Tostee elected not to give evidence. The trial lasted nine days at the Brisbane Supreme Court.
The court heard detailed audio of the pair arguing, as well as a photo re-enactment of Ms Wright's last moments dangling from Tostee's balcony (pictured)
Tostee (left) and Ms Wright (right) met for the first time the night she died in August 2014. They are pictured walking into his apartment building on CCTV
The pair took selfies together in a night of drinking and sex before Ms Wright's fall
The 26-year-old tourist from New Zealand and the 30-year-old carpet layer met on Tinder
Three hours of audio recorded on Tostee's mobile phone was played during the trial
References
- ^ Daniel Piotrowski In Brisbane For Daily Mail Australia (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ e-mail (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ View comments (www.dailymail.co.uk)
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