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: Warriena Wright's blood-alcohol level revealed

news.com.au
13 Oct, 2016 04:51 PM7 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

Join Tristram Clayton as he talks with Investigative Journalist Phil Vine on the Tostee court case.

Warning: This article contains graphic content that some readers may find distressing

The mother of New Zealander Warriena Wright, who died after falling from the balcony of Gable Tostee's 14th floor Surfer's Paradise apartment, has criticised the judge in Tostee's murder trial saying she didn't want to hear her daughter's screams.

Merzabeth Tagpuno said in a statement released on her behalf that the "media... have made this trip the most saddest, hardest trip I have ever had to endure", Australian media reported.

"I asked not to release the audio tapes - yet I was over-ruled by the judge. I did not want to hear my daughter screaming, 'No, no, no'. I did not want to remember her like that.

"I feel our family had been disrespected by the judge's ruling to release the audio tapes to the media. To those who want an exclusive from my family, we're saying 'No'. The judge gave you everything - that is enough.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The media have hurt me so bad. When this is over I will go back to New Zealand. I want to be left alone. Please respect my privacy, I will not talk to anybody; just leave our family in peace.

"No matter how this goes, I just want to go home."

The trial will resume on Friday morning.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Injuries, blood-alcohol level revealed

Gold Coast doctor Dianne Little told the Brisbane Supreme Court today that New Zealander Warriena Wright had more than 80 injuries after she fell from Gable Tostee's 14th storey Surfers Paradise apartment in the early hours of August 8, 2014.

Her blood alcohol reading was estimated to be 0.156, or more than three times the safe driving limit.

Tostee has been charged with Wright's murder.

He has pleaded not guilty.

Discover more

New Zealand|crime

Tostee: I'm a pornstar after a few drinks

12 Oct 09:11 PM
World

Tostee trial: Lawyers to have final say

13 Oct 09:43 PM
World

Tostee acted in 'self-defence' says lawyer

14 Oct 01:01 AM
World

Tostee trial: Jury seeks more answers

17 Oct 06:34 AM

Dr Little, the last witness in the Crown's case, told the court it was hard to conclusively determine Wright's height, because "there was severe disruption to her body due to trauma".

"She had severe injuries to all of her body that caused her death," she said.

"At the time she arrived in the mortuary her body was almost folded over on itself, her head was hyper-flexed down to wards her trunk.

"There was a piece of her jeans caught in a skull fracture."

The 162 cm, 57kg Wright met Tostee just hours before her death, after the pair matched on Tinder.

Gable Tostee arrives at the Supreme Court in Brisbane, where he faces a charge of murdering Kiwi Warriena Wright. Photo / AAP
Gable Tostee arrives at the Supreme Court in Brisbane, where he faces a charge of murdering Kiwi Warriena Wright. Photo / AAP

The court has previously heard the pair spent the night of August 7, 2014, drinking and having sex in Tostee's home, on the 14th floor of Surfers Paradise's Avalon Apartments.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Audio recorded by Tostee of the night appeared to show the pair fighting, and captured Wright's terrified screams, as Tostee allegedly refused to let her go home.

He locked her on his balcony, before she plunged to her death while trying to climb to the balcony below.

The Crown contends she was fleeing for her life in fear of Tostee when she fell.

Dr Little told the court that Ms Wright had "poorly defined" red marks on her neck but that they were "Not consistent with any application of force".

The Crown has contended Tostee strangled Ms Wright in the course of their struggle, in a part of the tape where her cries for help appear muffled.

Tostee's defence counsel has argued there is no evidence he strangled his Tinder date.
The Crown's case has now concluded and the jury has been excused for the remainder of the day, as Justice John Byrne, Crown prosecutor Glenn Cash and defence barrister Saul Holt, QC, argue points of law.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The court will reconvene before the jury at 10am Friday.

The Tinder date that proved fatal

Gable Tostee told New Zealand tourist Warriena Wright she looked "delicious" and he wanted to do "dirty things" to her during their Tinder texts.

The pair first started messaging each other on the dating app on August 1 before arranging to meet in person on August 7, 2014.

Their saucy exchanges also showed Tostee asking Ms Wright whether she was a "freak in the sheets".

Their Tinder conversation and text messages tendered in his trial show the two had only spoke sparingly before their date.

Tostee: "You look delicious. I want to do dirty things to you."
Wright: "That usually work?"
Tostee: "Haha, not trying to make anything 'work', im just saying. Got a problem with that? :P"
Wright: "Lol fair enough. I was just asking :P"
Tostee: "So you're down with that then? Can you be a freak in the sheets Cletes (Ms Wright's Tinder alias)?"
Wright: "Lol probably not. Depends"
Tostee: "What does it depend on?"
Wright: "What ive had to drink! Lol."
Tostee: "Lets get drunk together, I'm a pornstar after a few drinks!"

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It's not alleged Tostee threw or pushed Ms Wright but that he intimidated her so greatly she felt the only way to escape him was to climb off his locked balcony.

Tostee and Wright in his apartment just hours before she fell to her death. Photo / via Twitter
Tostee and Wright in his apartment just hours before she fell to her death. Photo / via Twitter

Injuries detailed in murder trial

VICTIM: Warriena Wright, aged 26, died from a fall off Gable Tostee's 14th floor balcony in the early hours of August 8, 2014.

She had:

• 80 separate injuries to her body
• Blood alcohol level 0.156, three times over legal driving limit
• Head hyperflexed, bent right over torso
• Body "almost folded over itself"
• No internal or external evidence of choking, strangulation
• Old scars on wrists, right thigh, chest from self-inflicted injuries.

ACCUSED: Gable Tostee, now aged 30, on trial in Brisbane Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to Ms Wright's murder.

He had:

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

• Abrasions on right knee, covered in dried blood
• Small linear abrasion on right side of nose
• Abrasion on lower left cheek, half a centimetre long
• Red mark just below hairline on neck.

Timeline of Warriena Wright's final night

(Based on CCTV and audio recording exerts tendered in murder trial)

Thursday, August 7, 2014
8.46pm - Gable Tostee and Warriena Wright meet for their Tinder date on Cavill Ave, Gold Coast.
8.50pm - Tostee buys a six pack of beer from BWS.
8.53pm - They get into lift at his block of units. Last time Wright is seen alive.

Friday, August 8, 2014
1.05am - Tostee starts recording audio on his mobile phone
2.14am - Tostee: "You have to leave." Ms Wright: "It's all good." Tostee: "You're f***ing insane."
2.15am - Tostee: "You're lucky I haven't chucked you off my balcony you goddamn little pschyo bitch."
2.17am - Tostee: "I'm gonna let you go, I'm gonna walk you out of this apartment just the way you are. You're not going to collect any belongings, you're just going to walk out. I'm gonna slam the door on you. If you try to pull anything I'll knock you out, I'll knock you the f*** out." Heavy breathing then crashing sound
2.20am - Tostee: "You just don't understand. Let go! You think if you hit me I'll just fall down like in the movies?" Ms Wright: (screaming) "No, no, no, no, no. Just let me go home." Tostee: "I would but you have been a bad girl." Ms Wright: (screaming) "I want to go home, I want to go home." Distant scream followed by loud heavy breathing
2.22am - Tostee: "Shit" (call goes to voicemail) "Where the f*** are my keys?"
2.23am - Gets out of lift on ground floor, paces around, goes back in.
2.25am - Gets out of lift in basement, leaves building via car park.
3.07am - Tostee continues walking around Gold Coast entertainment precinct.
3.11am - Orders and eats pizza from Cavill Ave shop. Tostee calls father Tostee: "Hello dad, might have a bit of a situation ... I locked her out on the balcony and I think she might have jumped. I've been walking around and there's million cops around my building ... I swear to God I didn't push her. I just chucked her out on the balcony because she was beating me up ... why does s*** happen to me, I didn't do anything wrong."
3.44am - Tostee picked up by father Gray Tostee in car. Tostee: "Oh my God I hope she's not dead."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

Premium
World

What a British surgeon saw in Gaza: ‘They’re prepared to die for a bagful of rice’

10 Jul 05:00 PM
World

Cycle rickshaws banned to tackle overtourism in Florence

10 Jul 05:00 PM
World

Leaked audio: Trump says he told Putin he would ‘bomb the s*** out of Moscow’

10 Jul 06:17 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Premium
What a British surgeon saw in Gaza: ‘They’re prepared to die for a bagful of rice’

What a British surgeon saw in Gaza: ‘They’re prepared to die for a bagful of rice’

10 Jul 05:00 PM

New York Times: On average, she treated 10 patients a day on her last trip to Gaza.

Cycle rickshaws banned to tackle overtourism in Florence

Cycle rickshaws banned to tackle overtourism in Florence

10 Jul 05:00 PM
Leaked audio: Trump says he told Putin he would ‘bomb the s*** out of Moscow’

Leaked audio: Trump says he told Putin he would ‘bomb the s*** out of Moscow’

10 Jul 06:17 AM
European court to rule in Semenya sports gender case

European court to rule in Semenya sports gender case

10 Jul 05:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

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