A jury in the Brisbane Supreme Court has found Gable Tostee not guilty of murder and the lesser charge of manslaughter of New Zealand tourist Warriena Wright.
The decision came after four days of jury deliberations and the possibility of a re-trial after a juror posted information about the trial on Instagram..
Tristram Clayton talks to Phil Vine about the not guilty verdict.
In the midst of a murder trial, where, in the cold, sterile setting of a courtroom, the finger of blame is being pointed and deflected, it is easy to forget, at the centre of it all, the true tragedy.
That a real person, a much-loved sister, daughter and best friend,has lost her life.
Gable Tostee has been found not guilty in the murder trial over the death of Warriena Wright.
Gable Tostee entering court. Photo / News Corp
We heard little of Warriena, the 26-year-old New Zealander, during the Brisbane Supreme Court trial of her accused killer.
We heard she was on holiday on the Gold Coast when she matched with Tostee on the dating app Tinder, and that soon after meeting, they returned to his apartment, where they drank and had sex.
We heard those terrified screams, before she plummeted 14 floors from his balcony to her death.
We did not hear that Wright, known as Rrie to her friends and family, was an animal lover, and passionate animal rights activist.
That she worked in a bank. That she had travelled to Queensland for a friend's wedding and had taken two weeks to coincide with that event to travel around the state's southeast.
That in that time she went skydiving, and proudly had her photo taken at a wildlife sanctuary with a python draped over her shoulders.
Warriena Wright and Gabe Tostee shown to the jury in Tostee's trial. Photo / Supplied
"My sister was the most important person in my world," Reza Wright said through tears in August, 2014, days after Warriena plummeted to her death.
On the morning Wright died, Reza, now 25, lost her best friend.
Soon after her death, Reza said she and her sister were largely estranged from their parents, which made their bond even tighter than those of normal sisters.
It was just the two of them against the world.
"We really only had each other. She looked after me and always made sure that I was OK and she was really responsible as well," she said.
Reza said Wright also took care of their mother Merzabeth, who also travelled to Brisbane for Tostee's trial.
Warriena Wright. Photo / Supplied
Reza was the first witness to give evidence last week.
The pain of her loss seemed to have dulled little in the two years since her sister died.
At times on the stand, Reza was overcome by tears, as she told how in the hours before her death, her sister had told her via Facebook message she had met a guy who looked like Sam Winchester, a character in one of her favourite television shows Supernatural.
She said they were drinking together and sent her dark selfies of the pair taken on Tostee's balcony where, just hours later, Wright would climb over the balustrade and fatally fall to the driveway below.
It was the last time the sisters would communicate.
Reza travelled to the Gold Coast in the days after her sister's death, before Tostee was charged, to appeal for information, while clearly distraught.
She said Warriena was a private person, who hated attention, who loved animals and practical jokes.
"Rrie was a strong supporter for animal rights and protection and stood by her convictions," she said.
"Rrie was always a funny practical joker who constantly kept my friends entertained and happy."
While Wright's family did travel to Brisbane for the trial, little time was spent in the courtroom.
Last Thursday, through a family spokeswoman, Mrs Wright told the media she had not wanted to hear her daughter's final, terrified screams that were captured on the secret recording Tostee made in his apartment that fateful night.
She said she would return to New Zealand to continue mourning her eldest child, and wished to be left alone to do so in private.
"The media have hurt me so bad. When this is over I will go back to New Zealand. I want to be left alone. Please respect my privacy, I will not talk to anybody; just leave our family in peace," she said.
"No matter how this goes, I just want to go home."
