THE voice of Lisa Harnum rang out
through the Supreme Court as the murder trial of her boyfriend Simon
Gittany heard how much she believed their relationship had changed her.
"All day, I don't speak. I have nothing else to do in my life, I
don't have anybody else," she said in a recording made shortly before
her death.
WHO IS GITTANY'S NEW GIRLFRIEND?
The tape was among evidence tendered to the court by the prosecution - photos of Lisa's striking beauty, affectionate text messages she sent to her mother Joan and girlfriends, Gittany's proposal to her on her 30th birthday, and the faltering of her bubbly Canadian accent as she lamented what she considered to be her loss of independence.
With Lisa now unable to speak for herself, a tapestry of her
life - and evidence of how it changed with Gittany - rests in the hands
of Justice Lucy McCallum as she decides what happened in the last
moments of the former ballerina's life and Gittany's role in it.
The conversation, recorded on an iPhone in the couple's bedroom shortly before her death, captures Lisa lamenting to Gittany: "I don't do anything without checking with you first, and getting your permission."
The court heard her start to cry as she tells him how lonely she was.
The court heard Gittany responded to her cries with "bubba, we hang out all the time" and "I love you so much".
When cross examined about his reaction to her concerns, Gittany said he was "being cute".
He told the court his jealously stemmed from "my own insecurities" but also due to Lisa's striking looks and her clothing.
The court heard Gittany didn't like his fiancee wearing short skirts and dresses "sometimes with no bra". He also believed she could get "flirtatious" with other men after just one glass of wine.
A text from Lisa to her mother, tendered to the court, said that nights out with Simon
"turn into a nightmare" and they would be sticking to "quiet dinners with a few drinks" instead of nightclubs.
Mrs Harnum told the court during her evidence in the early days of the trial that her daughter returned home to Canada in late 2010 a shadow of her previously happier self.
"She told me he was always very controlling and wanted to
always know where she was, what she was doing, who she was with, what
she was wearing," Ms Harnum told the court.
She said during Lisa's short stay in Canada, Gittany almost constantly called and texted his partner much to her family's annoyance.
"We would be watching a movie and Simon would keep calling," she said. "It was family time, it was interrupted by him."
A text sent by Gittany to Lisa while she was away said "please don't let any guy talk to you and please don't look at any guy because your eyes should only gaze on me, the one".
The Crown, led by the state's most senior prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC, claimed her alleged murder was a crime that followed "the most intense surveillance" imaginable.
The Crown said Gittany "lost control" after learning Lisa was planning to leave him, dragging her back inside their apartment before throwing her from the balcony while "apoplectic" over her efforts to walk away from the "manipulative union".
It was a relationship the Crown said became characterised by
Gittany's attempts to transform her from a proudly attractive woman who
loved her long hair and wearing high heels, into "a mere shell of a
person".
Text messages tendered to the court show Gittany, 40, blasted her for "walking around like a peacock with your hair out".
Gittany, who told the court he once worked delivering health products to fitness fanatics, is now supported by a new partner, actress Rachelle Louise, a relationship that began after Lisa's death.
The court heard the two women knew each other and had sometimes shared cabs with Gittany after nights out.
The trial took about two weeks less than if it had been heard by a jury. Gittany successfully applied to have the trial heard only by a judge due to financial concerns with paying his barrister.
Mr Strickland told the court Lisa had a "schizophrenic" attitude to the relationship "sometimes loving it, sometimes wanting to leave it".
Whether Lisa in her last seconds climbed the balcony and fell to her death, or if she was thrown by a man she had barely a month earlier promised her life to, now rests in a judge's hands.
WHO IS GITTANY'S NEW GIRLFRIEND?
The tape was among evidence tendered to the court by the prosecution - photos of Lisa's striking beauty, affectionate text messages she sent to her mother Joan and girlfriends, Gittany's proposal to her on her 30th birthday, and the faltering of her bubbly Canadian accent as she lamented what she considered to be her loss of independence.
Lamented the loss of her independence: Lisa Harnum.
Source: Supplied
The conversation, recorded on an iPhone in the couple's bedroom shortly before her death, captures Lisa lamenting to Gittany: "I don't do anything without checking with you first, and getting your permission."
The court heard her start to cry as she tells him how lonely she was.
The court heard Gittany responded to her cries with "bubba, we hang out all the time" and "I love you so much".
Murder accused Simon Gittany with new girlfriend Rachelle Louise.
Source: News Limited
He told the court his jealously stemmed from "my own insecurities" but also due to Lisa's striking looks and her clothing.
The court heard Gittany didn't like his fiancee wearing short skirts and dresses "sometimes with no bra". He also believed she could get "flirtatious" with other men after just one glass of wine.
A text from Lisa to her mother, tendered to the court, said that nights out with Simon
"turn into a nightmare" and they would be sticking to "quiet dinners with a few drinks" instead of nightclubs.
Mrs Harnum told the court during her evidence in the early days of the trial that her daughter returned home to Canada in late 2010 a shadow of her previously happier self.
A torn note found in Lisa Harnum’s pocket when she died.
Source: Supplied
She said during Lisa's short stay in Canada, Gittany almost constantly called and texted his partner much to her family's annoyance.
"We would be watching a movie and Simon would keep calling," she said. "It was family time, it was interrupted by him."
A text sent by Gittany to Lisa while she was away said "please don't let any guy talk to you and please don't look at any guy because your eyes should only gaze on me, the one".
The Crown, led by the state's most senior prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC, claimed her alleged murder was a crime that followed "the most intense surveillance" imaginable.
The Crown said Gittany "lost control" after learning Lisa was planning to leave him, dragging her back inside their apartment before throwing her from the balcony while "apoplectic" over her efforts to walk away from the "manipulative union".
Simon Gittany on close circuit television from his building.
Source: Supplied
Text messages tendered to the court show Gittany, 40, blasted her for "walking around like a peacock with your hair out".
Gittany, who told the court he once worked delivering health products to fitness fanatics, is now supported by a new partner, actress Rachelle Louise, a relationship that began after Lisa's death.
The court heard the two women knew each other and had sometimes shared cabs with Gittany after nights out.
The trial took about two weeks less than if it had been heard by a jury. Gittany successfully applied to have the trial heard only by a judge due to financial concerns with paying his barrister.
Mr Strickland told the court Lisa had a "schizophrenic" attitude to the relationship "sometimes loving it, sometimes wanting to leave it".
Whether Lisa in her last seconds climbed the balcony and fell to her death, or if she was thrown by a man she had barely a month earlier promised her life to, now rests in a judge's hands.
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