A man has pleaded guilty to locking his girlfriend on the balcony of a Sydney hotel before she fell to her death.
Scott Minigle says he was jealous about messages Jodie Lovell had received from another man, but never wanted to harm her.
During a drunken argument in May 2020, Lovell was locked on a 10th-floor balcony at the Hyatt Regency hotel.
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Twenty minutes later, the 45-year-old mother of two’s body was found on a level-one rooftop.
Minigle said he read through texts in her phone when he came across messages “from a bloke” that were “a bit suggestive”.
“That’s what stirred the pot,” he told police.
Minigle called reception when he noticed Lovell was gone, saying: “I think my girlfriend jumped from the balcony.”
The last time he saw her, she was “standing on a chair”.
A police investigation that tested multiple theories concluded Minigle did not cause her death.
But he was charged with detaining a person for psychological gratification, a domestic violence offence that carries a maximum term of 14 years behind bars.
He will be sentenced at a later date.