Tostee to fight balcony murder charge
ACCUSED balcony killer Gable Tostee will seek bail in the Supreme Court after being remanded in custody over the death of a young New Zealand tourist who plunged 14 floors to her death from a Gold Coast high rise last week.
Tostee was arrested and charged with murder on Friday, exactly a week after Warriena Tagpuno Wright fell to her death from the balcony of his luxury apartment at the Avalon tower in Surfers Paradise.
He was spared an appearance in Southport Magistrates Court today when his lawyer, former police prosecutor Mick Purcell, said he was not required in the dock.
Magistrate John Costanzo
remanded Tostee in custody until October 10 and ordered police provide a brief of evidence by September 30.
Outside court, Mr Purcell said Tostee ?maintains his innocence?. ?We look forward to receiving the brief of evidence so we can move on with the court process,? he said.
?I have instructions to make application for bail in the Supreme Court in the weeks to come.? Ms Wright had been on a two-week Australian holiday and only met Tostee that night through social dating app Tinder.
Tostee?s parents, Gray and Helene, were not in court to support him.
Overnight it was reported: RECORDINGS retrieved by police allegedly linked Gold Coast playboy Gable Tostee to the murder of a New Zealand tourist who plunged 14 floors from his high-rise balcony.
Tostee was yesterday charged with murder, exactly a week after Warriena Tagpuno Wright fell to her death from the balcony of his luxury apartment at the Avalon tower in Surfers Paradise. The 26-year-old had been on a two-week Australian holiday and only met Tostee that night through social dating app Tinder.
Tostee was arrested at his parents? Carrara home and taken to Surfers Paradise police headquarters about 11am, before being taken to Southport Watchhouse where he was formally charged with murder.
Police will allege they have a compelling case against the 28-year-old, including the retrieval of recordings which detailed the interactions between the pair around the time of Ms Wright?s death. Tostee had previously written on the forum page of a bodybuilding website describing his obsession with recordings.
The self-confessed ladies? man, who has boasted of bedding about 150 women, wrote on the forum that he had installed motion detector cameras in his old apartment and sometimes left his phone on record mode on nights out. Tostee was first interviewed by police on Friday last week, but exercised his right to silence. He again gave police the silent treatment during an interview with detectives yesterday, but was charged nonetheless. Defence lawyer Michael Purcell said Tostee, who has protested his innocence on social media, would contest the charges. ?He maintains his innocence and he will be defending the charges,? he said. Tostee this week took to the same bodybuilding forum to protest his innocence.
?I?ve been advised not to go into details, but all I will say is that I absolutely did NOT cause this girl to fall and that I am devastated,? he wrote. Tostee will face Southport Magistrates Court this morning, but is unable to apply for bail until the case is adjourned to the Supreme Court in Brisbane. His arrest followed an investigation involving 20 detectives, including officers from the state homicide squad, who worked around the clock trying to piece together exactly what happened on Tostee?s balcony that night.
Despite the arrest the Regional Crime Co-ordinator, Detective Superintendent Dave Hutchinson, said police still wanted to speak with anyone with any information which could help the investigation. Last night, Ms Wright?s sister Reza, who on Thursday made a brave public plea for answers, visited the scene of the tragedy for the first time. Accompanied by a friend, she lit a candle and cracked a beer in honour of the sister she described as the most important person in her life.