Simon Gittany loses murder conviction appeal
A file photo of Simon Gittany outside court in 2013. (AAP) AAP
Simon Gittany, who killed his fiancee by throwing her off a 15th-floor Sydney balcony, has lost his murder conviction appeal.
Gittany was jailed for at least 18 years in November 2013 after being found guilty of murdering 30-year-old Lisa Harnum in July 2011.
The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal today dismissed his conviction challenge.
The appeal had centred on the reliability of a witness who said he saw a bare-chested man standing on a balcony "unload" what he initially thought was a piece of luggage or a black duffel bag.
Gittany's lawyer submitted the memory of the witness, Joshua Rathmell, was unreliable.
His recollection could have been influenced by what he learned about the incident after witnessing it, he said.
Justice Lucy McCallum, who heard the trial without a jury, found the jealous and possessive Gittany flew into an uncontrollable rage and threw Ms Harnum from their apartment balcony after finding out she planned to leave him.
The trial heard Gittany had monitored Ms Harnum via CCTV cameras he'd installed in their apartment and used a computer program to read her texts and emails.
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