A profoundly deaf woman accused of helping to push a deaf man over a balcony to his death has been granted bail.
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Georgia Fields, 19, successfully applied in the Supreme Court on Wednesday to be released after being charged with murdering Robbie Wright, who fell 12 metres from the balcony of his Ringwood apartment on January 15.
Mr Wright, 36, hit his head on a guard rail and died from his injuries three days later.
Ms Fields, Warwick Toohey, 28, and Jake Fairest, 26, who are also deaf, have all been charged with murder.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Grant alleged the trio confronted Mr Wright in his lounge room, restrained him and forced him out on to the balcony and over the hand rail.
Mr Grant said it was not known if Mr Toohey or Mr Fairest had been holding on to Mr Wright before he was pushed off the balcony.
He said CCTV footage of the trio using Auslan sign language while on a train to Ringwood, in the foyer of Mr Wright's apartment and in the lift on their way to confront him, would form part of the prosecution case as the recordings suggested they had been planning the murder.
An Auslan interpreter had analysed the CCTV footage to provide a transcript of what the trio had been talking about in the lead-up to Mr Wright's death.
The interpreter could not identify all parts of the conversation because the trio at times had been using slang terms.
The prosecutor said Ms Fields, who was Mr Toohey's girlfriend, had admitted a role in the alleged murder but claimed she wasn't involved at the critical moment when Mr Wright was pushed off the balcony.
He said Ms Fields claimed she tried to stop what was happening, but at the last moment.
However, Mr Grant pointed out that Ms Fields later admitted during a Facebook conversation with a female Metro train driver she had befriended that she was involved in pushing Mr Wright off the balcony.
Justice Stephen Kaye said he had decided to release Ms Fields on bail because she was vulnerable in prison and had been bullied by other inmates.
Her bail conditions would include that she not leave Victoria; must live with her family in Ferntree Gully; report to Knox police station twice a week; and not contact her co-accused.
Justice Kaye said the relationship between Mr Wright and Mr Toohey, who were living together, had deteriorated to such an extent that Mr Wright had placed a lock on his door, apparently to stop Mr Toohey stealing his possessions.
The CCTV footage allegedly showed Mr Toohey, Mr Fairest, and Ms Fields discussing how they should kill Mr Wright.
The judge said Mr Fairest allegedly talked about strangling Mr Wright but Ms Fields suggested it would be better to throw him off the balcony.
The footage showed Ms Fields allegedly using sign language to say, "fall good".
Justice Kaye said Ms Fields admitted in her later Facebook messages that the trio had pushed Mr Wright off the balcony.
Defence lawyer Tim Smurthwaite told the court Ms Fields was the only deaf person being held in the maximum security Dame Phyllis Frost Centre women's prison and she was having difficulties communicating with prison staff and other inmates.
Ms Fields had to communicate by writing letters and often became frustrated and stressed, running back to her cell and putting a blanket over her head.
Mr Smurthwaite said Ms Fields felt isolated, lonely and vulnerable in prison and could not understand why prison staff would not open the front gate to let her go home.
After her arrest, Ms Fields told homicide detectives: "I thought he'd break an arm or a leg. I didn't think he'd die. He's truly dead. I'm so shocked."
Ms Fields and her two co-accused are due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on August 17 for a committal hearing.