Man Faces Murder Charges After Tinder Date Died Trying to Escape Him

Australian man accused of murder after his Tinder date died trying to escape his apartment.

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A 30-year-old Australian man, Gable Tostee, is on trial for murder after his Tinder date, 26-year-old New Zealand tourist Warriena Wright, fell to her death while trying to escape his 14th floor apartment. Tostee plead not guilty to the charge in Brisbane on Monday, according to the Associated Press

Tostee and Wright went on their first date in August of 2014, and Wright died while that date was in progress and had spiraled to violence and threats, according to the Brisbane Times. Prosecutor Glen Cash argued Monday that Tostee did not throw Wright from his balcony, but that he intimidated her and scared her so badly that she felt she had no choice but to attempt an escape from the balcony, when she suffered a fatal fall. 

In court Monday, prosecutors played an audio recording of part of the date that Tostee had captured on his phone, where he can be heard saying, "You're lucky I haven't chucked you off my balcony. If you try to pull anything, I'll knock you out." Cash told the court that Tostee became angry after Wright threw ornamental rocks at him, prompting Tostee's threats, the AP reports. He also argued that Tostee choked and restrained Wright before locking her out on the balcony.

Tostee's phone also captured audio of Wright's fall from the balcony. 

Cash also said that one of Tostee's neighbors heard Wright screaming, "No, no, no, please let me go home," before then seeing her fall 15 seconds later. 

Tostee's phone also recorded a call he made to his father soon after Wright's fall, where he said, "I met up with a girl for a date... she started getting really aggressive. We had sex in bed and then after that she kept drinking," according to ABC News in Australia. Tostee further told his dad that Wright kept "beating him up," leading him to lock her on his balcony. 

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