A Sydney man has been found guilty of murdering his fiancée by throwing her off the balcony of a high-rise apartment.
Simon Gittany was in "fit of rage" when he killed Lisa Harnum on July 30, 2011 after he found she was planning to leave him.
"I'm confident to the point of actual persuasion that he maintained his rage, carried her over to the balcony and then dropped her over," said New South Wales Supreme Court judge Justice Luca McCallum, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
Gittany's current girlfriend, Rachelle Louise, screamed "you're wrong" as the verdict was read.
Her screams could be heard for several minutes outside the court, before she asked a pack of media whether anyone "had a lighter".
Speaking outside the court, Ms Harnum's mother told reporters, "There are no winners in this case. Two families have had their lives dramatically changed forever".
She said women who are in the same situation as her daughter was "need a voice as well".
"We will always mourn the loss of our beautiful Lisa Cecilia and are working towards making her legacy a powerful wake-up call to young women."
The three-week trial captured Australia, as the court heard evidence about Gittany's controlling and abusive behaviour towards his fiancée.
He demanded to know where she was at all times, forbade her from seeing her friends and from doing anything that might allow Ms Harnum to come into contact with other men.
Gittany monitored Ms Harnum with security cameras hidden in their apartment and a computer program that tracked her text messages.
Ms Harnum began planning her escape by leaving bags of her belongings with her counsellor.
Hours before her death Ms Harnum attempted to flee, but Gittany dragged her back into the apartment with one hand over her mouth, which was captured on CCTV.
It was just 69 seconds later that Ms Harnum plunged 15 floors to her death.
Gittany will be sentenced on February 5.
3 News
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