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Tostee not a cartoon villain: lawyer

Gable Tostee terrorised NZ tourist Warriena Wright so much he caused her death as much as if he had pushed her from his balcony himself, a jury has heard.

Merzabeth Tagpuno (R), the mother of New Zealand woman Warriena Wright
The murder trial over the balcony death of New Zealand tourist Warriena Wright is coming to end. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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Warriena Wright was so terrified of Gable Tostee she had no choice but to climb over his 14th floor balcony to certain death, a jury has heard.

Prosecutor Glen Cash told the jury Tostee intimidated the New Zealand tourist so greatly he caused her death "as much as if he had pushed her from the balcony himself".

However, defence barrister Saul Holt argued the alleged murderer was gentlemanly towards the "massively drunk" and "out of control" Ms Wright.

Mr Holt said the 26-year-old Kiwi attacked Tostee with rocks in his own home, where they had spent a few hours drinking and having sex after meeting on dating app Tinder.

An audio recording Tostee made on his mobile phone captured sounds of the physical struggle between the pair and Ms Wright's eventual death.

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Mr Holt told the Brisbane Supreme Court trial on Friday Tostee de-escalated the situation and created a safe space for both of them by locking Ms Wright out on his balcony in the early hours of August 8, 2014.

Mr Holt said it was not foreseeable Ms Wright would climb over the balcony in darkness to certain death seconds later but that showed how irrational she was.

"This was a climb that couldn't work unless you were Spiderman," he said in his closing submissions.

"Tragically she thought that was a way to go home."

Mr Holt said Tostee managed Ms Wright's "craziness" by restraining her on the ground and saying some things he probably now regretted, such as "you're lucky I haven't chucked you off my balcony, you goddamn psycho bitch".

"You don't get convicted of murder or manslaughter for saying stupid things or for being angry," Mr Holt said.

Mr Cash said the "tall and muscular" Tostee dominated and taunted the "slight and petite" Ms Wright as he held her down on the ground with his body weight.

He argued Tostee could be heard choking Ms Wright for up to 45 seconds on the recording, something the defence disputes, before he locked her out on the balcony, cutting off her only means of escape.

"Just let me go home, just let me go home," Ms Wright said.

"I would but you've been a bad girl," Tostee replied.

Mr Cash said Ms Wright was experiencing such terror, bordering on hysteria, that it was foreseeable she would have climbed over the railing to escape.

Tostee was not the "cartoonish villain" portrayed in the media but a real person, Mr Holt said.

"'Gable Tostee the Tinder killer versus the innocent victim lured to his apartment' - the way things sell newspapers is not the way they exist in real life," he said.

Tostee has pleaded not guilty to murder but the jury can find him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The court has heard the jury is not allowed to conclude Tostee is guilty based on his apparent nonchalant actions in the immediate aftermath of Ms Wright's death, such as his attempts to call a lawyer and buying a pizza.

Justice John Byrne will continue to give his directions to the jury on Monday.


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