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Gable Tostee's Secret Forum Posts Protest His Innocence In His Own Words

He wrote lengthy, detailed posts on a bodybuilding website in 2014.
Warriena Wright with Gable Tostee on the night of her death.
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Warriena Wright with Gable Tostee on the night of her death.

In message board posts from 2014 that can be made public for the first time, Gable Tostee protested his innocence in the death of Warriena Wright in lengthy, detailed missives complete with pictures.

Queensland man Tostee was last week found not guilty of murder in the death of New Zealand tourist Wright, who fell to her death from his apartment balcony following a Tinder date in August 2014. Tostee alleged Wright had become drunk and violent during the evening, and he locked her outside on the balcony. She later tried to climb to another balcony, but fell.

In December 2014, four months after Wright's death, a user with the name 'GT' and profile pictures showing Tostee posted several long posts on the message board of a bodybuilding website where he was an active user. The posts give Tostee's own version of the story, where he maintained his innocence. The post was not able to be reported until after the trial, due to laws around media coverage of trials.

"So far I've been silent about the whole thing which has left my hands tied while so many misconceptions and untruths are being circulated in the media and in the public. This has been extraordinarily difficult, and I have grown to believe my silence may have done more harm than good," GT wrote.

"First off let me say that the death of Warriena was the most tragic and distressing event I have ever experienced. Knowing I was the last person to be with her, it has left me permanently scarred and not a day passes that I don't wish I could go back in time and prevent it. For at least a week after it happened I was so overwhelmed I was unable to laugh or even crack a smile. I broke down in tears several times a day, or whenever I saw her picture in the news."

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"I never expected I would ever experience something like this, nor did I have any idea how much it would affect me. Even though I had only known her for a night I was horrified that this had happened to her. I would never wish for it to happen to anybody. While I have not had the chance to meet or speak to Warriena's family, it pains me to think of the loss and suffering they must be experiencing."

GT wrote that the media had been "absolutely disgraceful in its handling" of the case, and gave his version of Wright's behaviour on the night.

"She was on holidays and we decided to meet up for drinks after matching and chatting on Tinder. At first we got along great but as the night continued her behaviour became strange and she became increasingly aggressive. I'm not sure whether she found it amusing but it was getting out of hand. She kept hitting me, taunting me, throwing my stuff around and trashing my apartment. For the last couple of hours with her most of my efforts were spent trying to placate her in the hope that she would calm down," GT wrote.

Tostee leaves court a free man. on October 20
Fairfax Media
Tostee leaves court a free man. on October 20

"I have always been happy to have girls stay overnight but eventually her behaviour became too overbearing and I decided I wanted her to leave. I tried to make her leave but instead of leaving she grabbed a nearby metal object and tried to swing it at me. This is where the alleged "choking" sounds began. I never deliberately choked her or put my hands around her neck, all I did was try to remove the weapon from her. If I wanted to choke her out then it probably wouldn't have been hard, but I did not do that as I did not want to hurt her. A less forgiving man could have quite conceivably exercised less restraint and retaliated violently. I did what I did to prevent further physical conflict and de-escalate the situation as best as I could."

GT also went into detail on the series of events that ended with Wright on the balcony and falling to her death.

"The struggle took place about 2-3 metres away from the rear glass doors that lead to my balcony. My front door was about 10m away, and has an automatic closer and lock which I would have had to flick then hold open while trying to force her out. This would have been much more difficult and wasn't really an option. Putting her outdoors would have meant I could separate her from me and keep an eye on her through the glass doors until she either calmed down or I called someone like security or police to take her away. Never in my wildest imagination did I expect what happened next," GT said.

GT wrote that the balcony was "not small or claustrophobic nor was it inherently dangerous" and posted several pictures to try and illustrate that point.

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"After shutting the door I turned my back and retreated, and literally about 10 seconds later when I turned around and looked through the glass I only briefly for a fraction of a second saw Warriena on the other side of the railing before she disappeared out of view. She never tried to get back in, bang on the door or even cry out to me or anyone else. She climbed over without any warning," GT wrote

"I was too far away to react. At the time I couldn't tell if she had fallen or climbed down to another floor. All I knew was that she was no longer there. How could anybody possibly expect someone to fall to their death within seconds of being on a balcony without any warning? It is not as if I locked her there and left her for hours. I was in disbelief."

He then detailed his actions after Wright's fall, including the oft-discussed fact that Tostee called his lawyer and ate pizza.

"Trying to keep my composure as much as possible I quickly realised that it would be extremely foolish to go back out on the balcony in case she had indeed fallen and someone saw me standing near the edge. The only sensible thing I could think to do at the time was call my lawyer, who would know what to do," GT wrote.

Tostee and Wright on CCTV on the night of her death
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Tostee and Wright on CCTV on the night of her death

"I did not "flee" the scene as it has been claimed. I went downstairs to see if I could find out what happened. When I reached the lobby I saw flashing emergency lights coming from outside. At this point it dawned on me that something serious had happened. I was terrified, exhausted, intoxicated, and quite disorientated and all I wanted to do was get advice. I knew if I walked into police I could have been held under suspicion without legal representation, a situation nobody would want to be in. I resorted to leaving the building and calling my Dad. It's easy for readers to say what they would have done given hindsight, but it is impossible to know how you would react if you weren't there."

"While I was waiting to meet my Dad I bought a slice of pizza to curb my hunger and anxiety. It was the most convenient thing I could find at that hour. Anyone familiar with the area will know that there are pizza venues that sell slices over the counter on every corner. The suggestion that I casually or leisurely indulged in a meal is absolutely outrageous. I was anything but casual. I had to eat because I was hungry, anxious, and intoxicated, and a slice of pizza was the easiest meal I could find."

Tostee was acquitted of murder and manslaughter last week, after four days of jury deliberations.

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