NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Gable Tostee's flying visit to NZ: 'We yelled out his name'

NZ Herald
25 Nov, 2016 12:26 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Gable Tostee was acquitted of killing his New Zealand Tinder date Warriena Wright, who plunged to her death from his Surfers Paradise high-rise in August 2014. Video / Nine Network

Gable Tostee has paid a flying visit to New Zealand under a new name - and in the company of a woman believed to be his Kiwi partner.

It is understood the man acquitted of the murder of New Zealand woman Warriena Wright - after she fell from a balcony on the Gold Coast during a Tinder date - arrived in New Zealand last weekend and flew out again this week.

He flew in on his own to Auckland from the Gold Coast on a Virgin Airlines flight last Saturday and left again for Brisbane on an Air NZ flight this week. He is understood to be living under his new name, Eric Thomas.

A source said he spotted Tostee on Ponsonby Rd near the Little Easy bar walking towards Franklin Rd with a woman early last Sunday.

"It was about 2.45am and we were shocked to see him out. We yelled out his name and he hung his head down."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Another person who saw the pair said it was definitely his Kiwi girlfriend, Lizzi Evans, with him. "She looked at us kind of angrily, they were walking hastily."

A former contestant on The Bachelor, Fleur Verhoeven, posted on Facebook on Thursday: "As it turns out, Gable Tostee is residing in Havelock North under a different name atm. Might sign up for Tinder."

It emerged in late October that Evans, whose real name is Elizabeth Smith, was romantically linked to Tostee. She hails from Havelock North but is believed to have been living in Australia.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Weeks before Evans was revealed to be Tostee's girlfriend, she appeared on an Australian current affairs TV show.

During filming for A Current Affair Evans told Channel 9 she and her partner, thought to be Tostee, were planning to move to New Zealand once her partner finished his architecture studies.

In a series of private messages with members of a Facebook discussion group about Tostee's Supreme Court trial - obtained by news.com.au - Evans said she and Tostee had been seeing each other for "quite a while".

Evans' brother Jon Smith answered the phone at the family's Hawke's Bay vineyard Hawkhurst Wines in Karamu, Hastings on Thursday.

Discover more

World

Gable Tostee: What the jury didn't know

20 Oct 07:43 AM
World

Tostee's 'despicable' interview slammed

14 Nov 06:06 AM
New Zealand

Controverisal Gable Tostee interview to air in NZ

22 Nov 03:13 AM
New Zealand

New name, new life? Gable Tostee slips into New Zealand

24 Nov 04:39 AM

When asked if his sister was back in the country, he said: "I wasn't aware she was actually, I'm actually not sure."

When asked if Tostee was visiting, he said: "Definitely not. I don't know anything about that."

He hung up the phone when asked if they were still in a relationship.

Lizzi Evans' parents, John and Shelley, own the winery.

Tostee was acquitted of the murder and manslaughter of New Zealand tourist Warriena Wright on October 20, 2016, more than two years after Wright died.

Wright fell 14 storeys to her death in August 2014, after climbing over the balcony railing of Tostee's Surfers Paradise apartment.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Wright was visiting Australia for a friend's wedding when she and Tostee connected on the dating app Tinder.

The pair met only hours before Wright died. They drunk alcohol, took selfies and had sex that evening and in the early hours of the next morning.

Wright was alleged to have thrown decorative rocks at Tostee.

Tostee admitted he and Wright argued that evening. Their altercations turned physical, ending with Tostee locking Wright outside the apartment on his balcony.

The Brisbane Supreme Court jury of six men and six women deliberated for four days before they reached a verdict. They cleared Tostee.

An hours-long audio recording capturing Tostee and Wright's conversations on the night she died was key evidence in the trial.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Tostee took the recording on his phone.

Wright can be heard screaming "No" 33 times before she fell to her death.

The prosecution argued Wright was so fearful of Tostee that she was willing to risk her life by climbing over the balcony to escape him.

Tostee's defence lawyer Saul Holt told the court Tostee acted in self defence.

Holt argued Wright had become increasingly violent towards Tostee and that when Tostee removed Wright from his apartment he had been trying to de-escalate the situation.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New ZealandUpdated

Holiday road toll at four after Port Waikato crash

01 Jun 01:30 AM
Sport

Australian sprinter Lachlan Kennedy breaks 10-sec barrier in Men’s 100m

New Zealand

Bull on the moooove in Invercargill, by Elles Road

Explore the hidden gems of NSW

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Holiday road toll at four after Port Waikato crash

Holiday road toll at four after Port Waikato crash

01 Jun 01:30 AM

It brings the King's Birthday road toll to four.

Australian sprinter Lachlan Kennedy breaks 10-sec barrier in Men’s 100m

Australian sprinter Lachlan Kennedy breaks 10-sec barrier in Men’s 100m

Bull on the moooove in Invercargill, by Elles Road

Bull on the moooove in Invercargill, by Elles Road

From foster care to own boss: How a teen mum defied the odds

From foster care to own boss: How a teen mum defied the odds

01 Jun 12:44 AM
‘No regrets’ for Rotorua Retiree
sponsored

‘No regrets’ for Rotorua Retiree

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP