Man accused of causing Kiwi's fatal fall joked with girlfriend before death

Andy Marshall. Photo / Supplied

A Perth man was laughing and joking in a phone call to his girlfriend just 30 minutes before he allegedly pushed a New Zealand man through a second-storey window, falling to his death.

Stefan Pahia Schmidt, 25, has not denied pushing Mr Marshall, the 29-year-old cousin of slain Feilding farmer Scott Guy, through the hotel window but said it was accidental.

He has pleaded not guilty to murder.

His trial at the West Australian Supreme Court began on Monday, and yesterday it was told how Schmidt's 29-year-old girlfriend received a text message from him about 7.45pm (local time) saying the hotel was dead, "But I am with the brothers and my famz, so we are making it good", the West Australia news reported.

He then called her about an hour later, where he was "just joking and having a laugh", said the girlfriend, who cannot be named.

The next day she received another phone call from Schmidt saying he had pushed someone at the hotel and they had fallen through a window and died.

The crown alleges a "fit of rage" and the "barest exchange of words" prompted Schmidt to push Mr Marshall out of the window.

But defence lawyer Tom Percy says Schmidt accepts he pushed Mr Marshall, but claims he did not intend any harm.

Yesterday the court also heard from Dean Banning, a patron at the pub at the time of the incident, who said he saw a bigger man grab a smaller man and give him a "pretty big push".

It did not look like the man meant to push him through the window, he said.

The trial is set down for two weeks.