Accused absent in balcony fall murder case
A BEER was cracked open and a candle was lit at the scene of Lower Hutt woman Warriena Tagpuno Wright’s fatal fall on the same day her alleged murderer was charged.
On Friday, Gold Coast bodybuilder Gable Tostee, 28, was charged with Wright’s murder, but was absent from his first hearing at Southport Magistrate Court yesterday morning.
His lawyer, former police prosecutor Michael Purcell, represented Tostee in court but no family or supporters of either the accused or Wright were there.
The 26-year-old Kiwibank call centre worker, who went by the name Rrie, was killed when she fell from Tostee’s 14th-storey apartment balcony on the Gold Coast on August 8.
Wright’s 23-year-old sister, Reza Tagpuno, and her mother, Beth, travelled to Surfers Paradise last week to bring her body home.
Tagpuno, accompanied by a friend, reportedly visited the scene of her sister’s death for the first time on Friday night where she cracked a beer in her honour and lit a candle.
The Courier Mail reported recordings retrieved by police allegedly linked Tostee to the murder and detailed his interactions with Wright leading up to her death.
Tostee was first interviewed by police more than a week ago but exercised his right to silence. He reportedly remained silent during questioning on Friday but was charged with murder only two hours later.
On Friday night Wright’s body was released to her family and a Queensland police spokesman said he expected she would be in New Zealand within the week.
Tostee’s neighbours reported hearing screams before Wright plunged from the high-rise building around 2.20am, Friday, August 8.
Yesterday morning Magistrate John Constanzo remanded Tostee in custody to appear via video link at Southport Magistrates Court on October 10.
Tostee’s legal team was not required to enter a plea on his behalf.
No application for bail was made, however Tostee’s legal representatives have previously indicated they would apply for bail at a later date.
Outside the court Purcell said: ‘‘My client maintains his innocence and we look forward to the provision of a brief of evidence so my client can move on with the court process.
‘‘I’ve got instructions to make an application in the Supreme Court for bail in the weeks to come.’’
Wright was in Australia for a fortnight to catch up with friends and attend a wedding.
It is understood she met Tostee through the popular dating app Tinder.
Tostee took to a bodybuilding forum last week to say he was devastated by the death, and to deny having anything to do with Wright’s fall.
‘‘I absolutely did NOT cause this girl to fall and that I am devastated about what happened to her,’’ he wrote.
On the same site he said he had taken home around 150 girls from clubs over the past few years.