A builder's claims his ex-partner died after falling over while drunk or on drugs rather than from his own hands in a violent rage should be rejected, a jury has heard.
Tatiana "Tanya" Dokhotaru was allegedly killed in her 22nd-floor apartment in southwest Sydney on the night of May 26, 2023.
Her ex-boyfriend Danny Zayat has pleaded not guilty to murder.
However, prosecutors at a NSW Supreme Court trial on Tuesday attacked the 30-year-old's various lies downplaying the argument he had with his former partner and seeking to distance himself from the crime.
He had denied any abuse at his hands during their relationship, telling police and the media after Ms Dokhotaru's death she had been known for "taking pills" and stumbling around, prosecutor Alex Morris said.
In a phone call intercepted by police in June 2023, Zayat again denied any violence, telling another male the NSW Police force was listening to the conversation.
"'Everything else he says is just a self-serving, designed-for-an-audience explanation," Mr Morris told the jury.
Earlier, the prosecutor argued there were a number of facts, including a volatile, dysfunctional relationship and Zayat's anger on the night, that pointed to the builder murdering his former girlfriend.
Ms Dokhotaru had been running her own Instagram business selling imitation designer goods when she was allegedly killed.
An autopsy showed she died from a brain injury caused by blows to her head, hitting her head when pushed or a combination of both.
There were indications Zayat had been violent to his ex-partner before her death including in April 2023 when he dragged her by the hair and spat on her, and on a separate occasion when he choked her, the jury heard.
About a week before she was found dead, Zayat gave Ms Dokhotaru a black eye and injured her ribs and arm, Mr Morris said.
Ms Dokhotaru allegedly tried to cover up her ex's violence by claiming she had been in a car accident or had tripped over her vacuum cleaner at home.
Zayat told various people she had tripped and fell down some stairs or was "off her head on drugs" and smacked her head on the kitchen bench.
It was improbable her injuries could have been self-inflicted through a fall, Mr Morris argued.
On the night of the alleged murder, neighbours heard the couple loudly arguing.
Police examining Ms Dokhotaru's apartment on the day she was found dead located a damaged flatscreen television, a shattered glass dome and shards of glass in an Ubereats bag.
Zayat was very angry during the argument, being heard to yell "you f***ing slut" in a loud, guttural manner, Mr Morris said.
That Ms Dokhotaru had called triple zero at the time also pointed to her alleged murder, the prosecutor said.
"Yes hi, my ex-boyfriend's here and he's trying to kill me," she told the operator.
The phone call was "unnaturally" cut off immediately after she told the operator of her street address, the jury was told.
Zayat is accused of throwing the phone off the balcony.
It has never been recovered.
"The action of indiscriminately throwing a mobile phone off a 22nd storey building ... is demonstrative of the level of rage in Mr Zayat," Mr Morris said.
The 30-year-old had also stolen $130,000 in cash Ms Dokhotaru had stashed in a shoebox and it was unlikely she would just let him leave the apartment unless she was incapacitated, Mr Morris said.
He was seen on CCTV running out of the building concealing something under his jacket, the jury was told.
The trial continues on Wednesday.
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