She was "completely and utterly isolated".
Controlled by her intensely jealous and possessive partner who tracked her every movement.
And Lisa Cecilia Harnum's life was brutally taken from her when her fiance threw her off the balcony of their high-rise Sydney apartment in a fit of rage because she was planning to leave him.
These are the allegations crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi, QC, put to accused murderer Simon Gittany at the end of an intense day of cross-examination in the Supreme Court in Sydney.
To each of the eight questions, Gittany had the same emphatic answer: "Absolutely not."
The public gallery was packed on Wednesday for Gittany's second day in the witness box, which at times became heated as he repeatedly denied Mr Tedeschi's allegations that he was "extremely controlling, possessive and domineering".
The Crown alleges he threw 30-year-old Canadian Ms Harnum off their CBD balcony in a fit of rage on July 30, 2011.
Gittany has pleaded not guilty to murder.
The court has heard Gittany installed CCTV in his apartment and used a computer program to monitor Ms Harnum's text messages, emails and internet usage.
"The purpose of these surveillance and tracking devices and programs was so you could keep tabs on Lisa Harnum's every movement because of your intense jealousy and possessiveness," Mr Tedeschi said.
"Absolutely not," Gittany replied.
He said he only tracked Ms Harnum's texts because she had a shameful secret which she wouldn't divulge.
The court has previously heard Ms Harnum suffered from bulimia and was too afraid to tell Gittany.
A handwritten note that said: "There are surveillance cameras inside and outside the house" was found in Ms Harnum's pocket after her death, but Gittany said he didn't know what it was about.
The court also heard Gittany failed to tell police about an external hard-drive of the CCTV device which he kept hidden in his ceiling and later had removed.
But Gittany said he didn't think of it because police already had his computer, which contained the same material as the hard-drive.
Mr Tedeschi said Gittany was "apoplectic" and "berserk with rage" when he discovered two of Ms Harnum's acquaintances were helping her to leave him.
"I was angry, yes," Gittany replied.
He conceded he dragged a screaming Ms Harnum back into their apartment 69 seconds before she plunged to her death.
But he denied he continued to struggle with her once inside and he maintained he made her a hot drink while she sat on the lounge, before suddenly running towards the balcony.
Mr Tedeschi suggested there was no way this occurred immediately after Gittany "forcibly subdued her, forcibly stopped her from crying out for help and forcibly dragged her back into the apartment".
"She didn't even have an opportunity to take off her handbag before you threw her from the balcony," Mr Tedeschi said.
"No," Gittany said loudly.
Gittany also denied he deliberately tried to make out to police that Ms Harnum had killed herself in order to hide his own involvement.
At one point, Gittany was asked to close the open Bible beside him on the stand, with Mr Tedeschi suggesting he was reading it during questioning.
The judge-only trial continues before Justice Lucy McCallum.
Share
