TORONTO — Seconds before Canadian Lisa Harnum fell to her death from the 15th floor balcony of a Sydney, Australia highrise, she looked directly into the eyes of boyfriend Simon Gittany.
“The first person I witnessed die was my fiancée in a tragic circumstance that I just did not know how to process,” Gittany testified Tuesday.
The 40-year-old stands accused of murder in a Sydney courtroom this week. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege Gittany pushed the 30-year-old Ontario native off the balcony of their apartment during a fight on July 30, 2011.
The court saw a still image of Gittany, with his hand over Harnum’s mouth, dragging her inside their apartment just over a minute before her death.
Gittany testified that Harnum ran for the balcony and was almost over it by the time he got near. He said he reached for her after she “released” herself onto the aluminum ledge below.
“After I couldn’t reach her it was like she disappeared or let go,” he told Judge Lucy McCallum. “I pushed myself out as far as I could to keep my eyes on her, which was all I could do. I kept my eyes on her until she hit the ground.”
The court heard that a neighbour heard Harnum screaming “please help me, God help me.”
CCTV footage shown in court appears to show a frantic Gittany, wearing a white T-shirt and striped pyjama bottoms, taking the elevator down to the ground floor after Harnum fell.
Gittany admitted the couple had an argument on the day of her death but denied he tried to control Harnum during their relationship.
Prosecutors allege Gittany ordered Harnum not to look at other men, not to leave their apartment without his permission and not to dress provocatively when they were out.
The court was read a text message Gittany sent to Harnum while she was back home in Canada in 2010.
“Please don’t let any guy talk to you today,” it read. “Don’t look at any guys as your eyes should only gaze on me, the one.”
Gittany testified he was simply being “cute.”
Prosecutors claim Gittany went “berserk” when he found out Harnum was planning to leave him and return to Canada. Photos taken by investigators inside the couple’s apartment show suitcases packed with women’s clothing and a travel folder containing Harnum’s passport.
Gittany testified he asked Harnum to leave because he believed she was keeping a secret from him.
Harnum’s mother Joan flew from her Ottawa home to Sydney for the trial. She was excused from the courtroom when Gittany re-enacted her daughter’s final moments.
She testified that in their last phone conversation her daughter told her: “Remember that I love you.”
Joan Harnum added: “We said our goodbyes and that was the last time I heard from her.”
The trial is expected to continue until the end of the month.
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