A man who locked his partner on the balcony of a high-rise hotel has admitted they had an argument over her text messages with a former lover.
New details have been revealed in court after Scott Andrew Minigle, 55, pleaded guilty to stopping Jodie Lovell, 45, to gain an advantage before she fell 10 stories to her death from the Hyatt Regency hotel from Sydney on May 22, 2020.
The court heard Ms Lovell was outside for around 20 minutes while “crying and distraught” before falling over the edge of the balcony.
Minigle had locked her out after finding an exchange between her and an ex-lover on his phone.
“I actually took his phone… I was going through his text messages, being stupid, and I found some from some guy,” Minigle told the court, Seven News reported.
‘They were a bit suggestive. That’s what sparked the plot.
He further admitted that the couple had a tumultuous relationship and that he was jealous after reading the messages, but insisted that he never meant to hurt her.
Minigle claimed he locked Ms Lovell on the balcony to let her “calm down” before continuing to discuss the messages.
Scott Minigle pleaded guilty to stopping Jodie Lovell (pictured) to gain an advantage before she fell 10 stories from the Hyatt Regency hotel in Sydney on May 22, 2020.
Minigle (pictured) claimed he locked Ms Lovell on the balcony to let her “cool her heels” after finding text messages from her ex-lover on her phone.
The charges against Minigle are related to having locked his partner outside so that he could read the full texts. He has not been charged in her death.
“The hotel manager stated that the offender told him… that his girlfriend was on the balcony and that they had an argument and then he closed the balcony door,” a Crown statement of facts seen by the Daily Telegraph read.
“He didn’t specify what he did then, but he turned toward the balcony and she was gone.”
Minigle told officers that Ms. Lovell stood on a chair on the balcony shortly before she fell.
Minigle told officers Ms Lovell was standing on a chair on the balcony shortly before falling from the Hyatt Regency hotel (pictured).
‘The offender was crying and distraught,’ the events continued.
“He kept repeating ‘why did I do it’ and saying ‘I’m stupid’.”
Police also found messages Minigle sent to her ex while she was on the balcony.
He sent ‘if you don’t leave Jodie alone you’re screwed’, followed by a water gun emoji.
“If I had any idea that she would do something as ridiculous as she did, there’s no way, no way I would have closed that door, no way on God’s fucking earth I would have closed that door,” Minigle. he told the police.
“I wanted her to calm down, I wanted our good night to continue, I wanted to be able to talk about what we were going through.”
Minigle was remanded to the Sydney District Court for sentencing.
He faces a maximum sentence of 14 years behind bars.
Minigle refused to answer reporters’ questions as he arrived and left the courthouse.
