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 / World

Gable Tostee murder trial: Sister takes stand

AAP
9 Oct, 2016 11:47 PM5 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

Source: Nine News Australia

Gable Tostee allegedly called a New Zealand woman he met on Tinder a "psycho b****" and told her she was lucky he didn't throw her off his balcony just moments before she plummeted to her death, a court has heard.

Tostee, 30, has pleaded not guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court to murdering Warriena Wright in the early hours of August 8, 2014.

Crown prosecutor Glen Cash told the jury Tostee did not throw the 26-year-old to her death but intimidated and threatened her so greatly she felt the only way to escape was to climb down from his locked balcony.

Gable Tostee is charged with the murder of New Zealander Warriena Tagpuno Wright. Photo / via Facebook
Gable Tostee is charged with the murder of New Zealander Warriena Tagpuno Wright. Photo / via Facebook

The court heard an audio recording made by Tostee captured an altercation between the pair as well as Wright's eventual death.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Cash said Tostee became angry after Wright threw some decorative rocks at him and hit him with a telescope.

Wright's mother Merzabeth Tagpuno broke down as the court heard how her daughter was allegedly choked and restrained as Tostee abused her.

"You're lucky I haven't chucked you off my balcony you God damn psycho b****," Tostee is allegedly heard to say in the recording.

"You're not going to collect any belongings, you're just going to walk out.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"If you try to pull anything I'll knock you out, I'll knock you the f*** out - do you understand?"

A jury containing seven women and six men was told a neighbour heard Wright crying "no, no, no, please let me go home" before witnessing her falling from Tostee's balcony about 15 seconds later.

Warriena Tagpuno Wright. Photo / Supplied
Warriena Tagpuno Wright. Photo / Supplied

Cash said an audio recording Tostee secretly made inside the apartment in the three hours leading up to Wright's death, in which the pair can be heard arguing and physically fighting, will be a key piece of evidence.

Tostee's phone was still recording when he left the apartment after Wright's fatal fall and called his father, Cash told the court.

Discover more

World

Tostee practices golf swing before trial

10 Apr 06:22 AM
New Zealand

Tinder date murder trial set to start

08 Oct 04:00 PM
New Zealand

Mum's tribute before Tostee trial

09 Oct 07:42 PM
World

Tostee trial: Neighbour hears 'no, no, no'

10 Oct 06:12 AM

In it, he admitted the pair had fought physically and that she had fallen over his balcony.

"I was all right at first, we, you know, had sex in bed and after that she kept drinking ... She kept beating me up ... I forced her out onto the balcony and I think she might have jumped off," Tostee allegedly told his father.

"She was saying, 'I know Muay Thai, I'll beat you up for fun'.

"I tried to hold her down and she ran out onto my balcony and the last thing I remember was she kept hitting me for some reason and I just like tackled her down on the ground inside the apartment."

He is then alleged to have locked her outside.

Tostee not a 'cartoonish villain'

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In his opening address, defence barrister Saul Holt QC said Tostee was a real person, not a "cartoonish villain" as the media often depicted.

Holt said Wright had become increasingly erratic and aggressive towards him after a night of drinking and intimacy.

After attempting to restrain her Tostee then put Wright out on the balcony and locked the door, the court heard.

Holt said Tostee did not choke Wright but was within his legal right to use "reasonable force" protect himself and his property.

"She is outside, he is inside and he has caused a locked door to be between the two of them," Holt said.

"What happened in this case is nothing like murder or manslaughter, it doesn't fit."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The court heard after Wright fell to her death Tostee attempted to contact a lawyer and called his father.

"She kept beating me up and whatever," Tostee told his father in the recording.

"I forced her out onto the balcony and I think she might have jumped off".

The trial before Justice John Byrne continues and is expected to take seven to eight days.

Of the 22 witnesses to be called by the Crown, Wright's sister is due to testify this afternoon.

Warriena Wright was in Queensland for a friend's wedding in 2014. Photo / via Facebook
Warriena Wright was in Queensland for a friend's wedding in 2014. Photo / via Facebook

Sister takes the stand

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

After being called as the first witness, Wright's sister Marreza told the court the two kept in touch via Facebook while Warriena was holidaying in Australia and messaged on the night of August 7.

She told the court her older sister said she'd met a man who looked like a character called Sam Winchester from the television show Supernatural.

The court heard Marreza was told the next day her sister had died.

'She might've jumped off'

Earlier, the court also heard Tostee called his father after Wright fell to her death and told him the pair had had sex.

Cash said Tostee told his father the woman was "really drunk" and started hitting him, presumably as a joke.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I forced her out onto the balcony and I think she might've jumped off," he allegedly told him.

Cash said a woman who lived directly under Tostee's unit in the Avalon Apartments complex would give evidence she went onto her balcony after hearing a female saying "no, no no".

The court heard this witness would describe spotting legs dangling from the balcony above and then seeing someone fall.

The jurors also heard Tostee and Wright had exchanged messages "sporadically" after meeting via the dating app Tinder on August 1.

Merzabeth Tagpuno, the mother of New Zealand woman Warrienna Wright, arrives at the Supreme Court in Brisbane. Photo / AAP
Merzabeth Tagpuno, the mother of New Zealand woman Warrienna Wright, arrives at the Supreme Court in Brisbane. Photo / AAP

Wright's mother earlier broke down in court as Tostee pleaded not guilty to murder.

Tagpuno broke down in tears as Tostee officially pleaded not guilty to murder at the start of his Brisbane Supreme Court trial today.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The 30-year-old was flanked by his parents and lawyers as he entered the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday.

A jury of seven women and six men have been empanelled for the murder trial.

What went on in that apartment in those few hours will be the focus for the jury in this week's trial.

The trial is expected to hear from more than 20 witnesses including Wright's sister and residents of the Avalon Apartments unit comple.

The trial before Justice John Byrne is expected to take seven to eight days.

- additional reporting news.com.au

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Sydney flights cancelled as 'bomb cyclone' looms over NSW coast

01 Jul 01:58 AM
World

Elon Musk: I’ll tank Republicans over big, beautiful bill ‘if it’s the last thing I do’

01 Jul 01:50 AM
World

How life will change for millions of Aussies from today

01 Jul 01:41 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Sydney flights cancelled as 'bomb cyclone' looms over NSW coast

Sydney flights cancelled as 'bomb cyclone' looms over NSW coast

01 Jul 01:58 AM

Sydney Airport has activated a ground delay programme, reducing landing capacity.

Elon Musk: I’ll tank Republicans over big, beautiful bill ‘if it’s the last thing I do’

Elon Musk: I’ll tank Republicans over big, beautiful bill ‘if it’s the last thing I do’

01 Jul 01:50 AM
How life will change for millions of Aussies from today

How life will change for millions of Aussies from today

01 Jul 01:41 AM
'Unprecedented': Father, child rescued swiftly by Disney Cruise Line crew

'Unprecedented': Father, child rescued swiftly by Disney Cruise Line crew

30 Jun 11:53 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

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
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • 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