It’s the bizarre social media essay the jury never saw.
The only time the entire night’s events have been explained by Gable Tostee himself and, like many things Gable Tostee was involved in, it came in a strange form – a blog post on a body building forum.
The post, written in 2014, came four months after Warriena Wright fell from the balcony off the carpet layer to her death.
A jury of six men and six women last week found Gable Tostee not guilty of murder and of the lesser charge of manslaughter, following a nine-day trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court with four of them being deliberations.
Tostee never appeared on the stand in the case but in December 2014, he took to an online body building forum to explain what really occurred the night his 26-year-old Tinder date died.
In a lengthy post entitled, “regarding the balcony tragedy”, Tostee gave, for the first time, his version of her death – against all legal advice.
The full contents of the post are only now able to be made public as they were never submitted as evidence.
He wrote: “I think it’s time I spoke out about the events that have happened over the last few months.”
“Those aware will know I am referring to the tragic death of Warriena Wright.
“So far I’ve been silent” Gable Tostee told his fellow members leaving his “hands tied while so many misconceptions and untruths are being circulated in the media and in the public.”
The post on the body building forum.
He says that it has been difficult and he now believes his silence “may have done more harm than good.”
“So now you can hear it from me.
“First off let me say that the death of Warriena was the most tragic and distressing event I have ever experienced.
“Knowing I was the last person to be with her, it has left me permanently scarred and not a day passes that I don’t wish I could go back in time and prevent it."
Tostee continues:
“For at least a week after it happened I was so overwhelmed I was unable to laugh or even crack a smile.
“I broke down in tears several times a day, or whenever I saw her picture in the news.
“I never expected I would ever experience something like this, nor did I have any idea how much it would affect me.
“Even though I had only known her for a night I was horrified that this had happened to her. I would never wish for it to happen to anybody.
“While I have not had the chance to meet or speak to Warriena’s family, it pains me to think of the loss and suffering they must be experiencing.”
“For at least a week after it happened I was so overwhelmed I was unable to laugh or even crack a smile."
Tostee, who has not spoken out in the days since he was acquitted, said that at the time the media “has been absolutely disgraceful in its handling of this.”
“From day one all they cared about was having a story.
“They don’t care about the truth or right or wrong. They have no respect for the dignity of the people involved.
“A young woman had died and they needed a villain. My silence only fuelled peoples’ imagination, and the media did everything they could to exploit that, including lying and misleading.
“They did everything they could to establish me as an evil monster, a portrayal which could not be further from the truth.”
Warriena Wright and a friend. Via Facebook.
He says that he had intended on a “fun night with Warriena."
“My night with Warriena was intended to be relaxed and fun. She was on holidays and we decided to meet up for drinks after matching and chatting on Tinder. At first we got along great but as the night continued her behaviour became strange and she became increasingly aggressive.
“I’m not sure whether she found it amusing but it was getting out of hand.
“She kept hitting me, taunting me, throwing my stuff around and trashing my apartment.
“For the last couple of hours with her most of my efforts were spent trying to placate her in the hope that she would calm down.
“I have always been happy to have girls stay overnight but eventually her behaviour became too overbearing and I decided I wanted her to leave.
“I tried to make her leave but instead of leaving she grabbed a nearby metal object and tried to swing it at me.”
When he wrote the post the audio he recorded had already been leaked and appeared publicly. It was implied at the time that Tostee himself leaked the audio himself, but this was never proven.
He addresses this saying:
“This is where the alleged ‘choking’ sounds began. I never deliberately choked her or put my hands around her neck, all I did was try to remove the weapon from her.
“If I wanted to choke her out then it probably wouldn’t have been hard, but I did not do that as I did not want to hurt her.
“A less forgiving man could have quite conceivably exercised less restraint and retaliated violently.
“I did what I did to prevent further physical conflict and de-escalate the situation as best as I could.”
It was at this crucial moment that Tostee locked Ms Wright on his balcony. In his post he includes images of his apartment to show his fellow bodybuilders the layout.
Tostee's apartment. Via Bodybuilding.com.
Tostee is heard on the audio recording saying “You’ve been a bad girl”.
Crown prosecutor Glenn Cash argued in Tostee’s trial that it was this act of locking her out that gave Ms Wright no other option than to try to leave Tostee’s apartment by trying to climb to the balcony below.
Tostee addresses this:
“The ‘bad girl’ comment was me frustratingly trying to tell her that I already tried to make her leave in response to her claiming she wanted to go home,” Tostee wrote. fact that I had been drinking all night, eloquence was not my first priority.
“The struggle took place about 2-3 metres away from the rear glass doors that lead to my balcony. My front door was about 10m away, and has an automatic closer and lock which I would have had to flick then hold open while trying to force her out.
“This would have been much more difficult and wasn’t really an option. Putting her outdoors would have meant I could separate her from me and keep an eye on her through the glass doors until she either calmed down or I called someone like security or police to take her away.”
Further posts from Tostee.
Tostee then writes about how his date plunged from his balcony.
“Never in my wildest imagination did I expect what happened next. After shutting the door I turned my back and retreated, and literally about 10 seconds later when I turned around and looked through the glass I only briefly for a fraction of a second saw Warriena on the other side of the railing before she disappeared out of view.
“She never tried to get back in, bang on the door or even cry out to me or anyone else. She climbed over without any warning. I was too far away to react. At the time I couldn’t tell if she had fallen or climbed down to another floor.
“All I knew was that she was no longer there. How could anybody possibly expect someone to fall to their death within seconds of being on a balcony without any warning? It is not as if I locked her there and left her for hours. I was in disbelief.”
He continues:
“Trying to keep my composure as much as possible I quickly realised that it would be extremely foolish to go back out on the balcony in case she had indeed fallen and someone saw me standing near the edge,” he said.
“The only sensible thing I could think to do at the time was call my lawyer, who would know what to do. Of course, the call didn’t go through.
“I did not “flee” the scene as it has been claimed. I went downstairs to see if I could find out what happened. When I reached the lobby I saw flashing emergency lights coming from outside. At this point it dawned on me that something serious had happened.”
What happened next has been perhaps one of the biggest avenues of criticism for Tostee, how he tried to call a lawyer, wandered around for an hour and ordered a pizza. He addressed this:
“I was terrified, exhausted, intoxicated, and quite disorientated and all I wanted to do was get advice.
“I knew if I walked into police I could have been held under suspicion without legal representation, a situation nobody would want to be in.
“I resorted to leaving the building and calling my Dad.
“It’s easy for readers to say what they would have done given hindsight, but it is impossible to know how you would react if you weren’t there.”
He says: “While I was waiting to meet my Dad I bought a slice of pizza to curb my hunger and anxiety. It was the most convenient thing I could find at that hour.”
“The suggestion that I casually or leisurely indulged in a meal is absolutely outrageous.
“I was anything but casual. I had to eat because I was hungry, anxious, and intoxicated, and a slice of pizza was the easiest meal I could find.
“As soon as I was able to obtain legal advice and representation I presented myself to the police who examined me later that day.
“I didn’t go home, I didn’t sleep, I didn’t even shower until that evening when I was released. “That night, the police seized my phone and my parents’ phones, where they found the recording. While I did not expect them to seize it, it is completely untrue that I tried to delete it, as it proved what happened.”
“I have read so many things that I can’t believe are supposedly about me.
“I have read that I have followed girls to their cars at night, or that I hung around in clubs preying on drunk girls while sober myself — things which are completely untrue."
And he refutes the suggestion he went on Tinder the day after Wright’s death:
“I did not speak to anybody on Tinder after Warriena’s death, and the last thing on my mind was finding a date. I did not go out to socialise even once in that week following.”
“I may have my eccentricities, and I may have had my fair share of drunk nights out on the town,” he said.
“Nobody who knows me would agree with the media’s portrayal of me or describe me as a bad or violent person."
He then writes:
“I know my lawyers might crucify me for writing this but I feel that I needed to speak out as I have had no voice so far and have sustained so much abuse having my hands tied.
“I am not afraid of the truth. I know I am innocent, I will be fighting the charge and I want to thank those who have understood and supported me.
“I look forward to this matter being resolved so that everyone involved can achieve closure.
“Gable.”
Top Comments
If he wrote it himself and it were true, it's a reasonable and plausible account of events. I simply don't believe he wrote that himself, having heard the language he ordinarily uses online. I do think the right decision was made by the jury, I don't think he killed her or forced her hand, and that's the only important question despite how incredibly unlikable he is. And he really is.
But I don't think he wrote that alone, it sounds like an intelligent friend or advisor composed it.
Oh pass the tissues! So why did he decline to give evidence at the trial if it were all this simple. Poor diddums.
I have read your posts on many of these pages about Gable Tostee and as other posters have pointed out I am glad you are not on the jury. This young women was mentally ill. There is a full audio recording of the events and DNA all over the place. He never struck once despite being under seige for three hours. You have claimed falsely that he threatened to break her jaw ( She threatened to break his jaw) That he choked her ( The dr had said this was false) You end up using examples of behavior not relevant in any way to the case. She wouldn't leave the property of her own accord. She picked up the telescope next to the television which is only a metre away from the balcony. After enduring all this and finally being stabbed with a telescope. Yes, in theory he could have dragged her out the front instead but the balcony was more practical. Violence like that is not acceptable. Just because a men are stronger than women does give you the licence to be extremely violent.
What do you think forced her to take such extreme action then Kate B?. I have read many of your posts and you seem to never explain properly why he should be in jail. You claim he strangled her despite this being demonstrably false. You claim he threatened to break her Jaw( She threatened to break his jaw) You simply have shrugged of her extremely violent behavior and comments as something he should just put up with he is male.
The telescope was next to the TV which is outside the balcony door. After all that extremely bad behavior and bashing him with a telescope, why should he have dragged her all the way outside the flat when the balcony is one metre away and swore at her twice. To start screaming no frantically and attempting a feat of which she had no hope of success of survival. I strongly suggest the the entire conversation. The poor girl was out of her mind.
If your case is strong on the basis of the evidence, why in the would would you put all that evidence at risk by putting yourself at the mercy of a very smart barrister that could easily trick you up verbally?
His legal counsel would have advised him not to go on the stand and he has done as he was told even if it is quite likely he really really wanted to get up there and say what he did in that email. It is apparent he felt very frustrated by not being able to say his side of the story (because he was advised not to) and acted out by typing up and posting on the website. Not a legally very smart thing to do but frustration can drive people to do things.
Because his lawyers had a strategy and not being incarcerated was his first priority