Queensland Supreme Court
After days of deliberation, the jury in the Gable Tostee murder trial finally reached a verdict yesterday afternoon, finding him not guilty of the murder or manslaughter of Warriena Wright.
ABC News reports the jurors rejected the Crown’s case that Gable Tostee had intimidated the victim to her death. The defence had argued that he was acting in self-defence, trying to prevent further attacks by locking her on the balcony.
Following the trial, the 30-year-old allegedly told a friend it has been “hell to go through”.
“It really is hell to go through and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Especially after one girl’s life was already lost,” a text message from Tostee to the friend said, according to 7 News.
Following the trial it has since emerged that Tostee previously “freaked out” another Tinder date on his balcony before she fled his apartment, according to News.com.au.
This fact was not told to the jury during his murder trial, nor was his self-confessed binge-drinking problem.
Tostee remained active on social media and Tinder after Wright’s death, boasting about how many women he had met on the dating app and how many women he had slept with.
The Gold Coast man reportedly took to the dating app after he was banned form a number of local nightclubs after a number of complaints from women.
Sin City manager Ty Davidson told News Corp that he banned Tostee because he had been “creeping them out”.
In the lead up to Wright’s death, Tostee was facing police charges for incidents committed whilst intoxicated, including public nuisance and obstructing police, but the charges were later dropped.
He was also involved in a high-speed police chase after he was caught driving without number plates just two weeks before her death, he pleaded guilty to these charges and served six months in jail while on bail for the murder charge of Ms Wright.
The Courier Mail today reports details of a psychiatric report from 2006 that describes Tostee as a “partially disabled person” after he was sentenced for being the mastermind of a fake id racket.
In the report, Dr Ian Curtis described Tostee as a “partially disabled person” and suggested he likely suffers from Asperger’s syndrome.
“Tostee presented as a socially distant, emotionally estranged person with whom it was impossible to establish a clear-cut rapport,” the court at the time was told.
“Dr Curtis noted that Tostee had no regular social life and was not equipped to deal in a discriminating manner with people whom he met socially.”
Dr Curtis also said Tostee suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and recommended Tostee required ongoing help.
Dr Derek Matthew who saw Tostee on a number of occasions between 2001 and 2006, also gave evidence that he was constantly having to “reassure the patient”
“Dr Matthew concedes that he is frequently not sure what plane Tostee is thinking on and that there is an abstract quality at times in his communication,” the court heard.
“(He) states that … from an early age it has been observed that Tostee has above average intellect but at the same time is handicapped by behavioural problems that come partly under the umbrella of Asperger’s syndrome with very marked obsessional compulsive and anxiety features.”
