Tatiana Dokhotaru was killed in her 22nd-floor apartment in southwest Sydney late at night on May 26, 2023.
Her former partner Danny Zayat, 30, has pleaded not guilty to murder.
He faced the first day of a NSW Supreme Court trial on Monday where footage of him sobbing the day after the alleged murder as the 34-year-old's body was surrounded by paramedics and police was played to the jury.
Jurors also heard an 89-second call the businesswoman made to triple zero shortly before she was allegedly murdered.
"Yes, hi. My ex-boyfriend's here and he's trying to kill me," she told the operator.
On a recording of the call, the pair could be heard arguing about money.
Ms Dokhotaru told the operator she was being bashed and Zayat was stealing her money.
She provided the street address of her apartment in the Sydney suburb of Liverpool before the call ended.
Zayat - who ran his own concreting business - took the phone, ended the call and threw the device off the unit's high-rise balcony, crown prosecutor Alex Morris alleged on Monday.
It was never recovered, the court was told.
Zayat is accused of murdering Ms Dokhotaru sometime in the next hour.
The pathologist who did an autopsy of the 34-year-old's body is expected to tell the court she died of blunt head trauma and a brain injury.
Police responded to the triple-zero call but were unable to find Ms Dokhotaru's unit number until the following day.
Scouring the crime scene, officers found broken glass throughout the apartment, a shattered half of a glass dome in her kitchen and a damaged flatscreen TV in her bedroom.
The intention was either to kill or inflict really serious bodily harm to his ex-partner, Mr Morris said.
Prosecutors have brought an alternative charge of manslaughter against Zayat if the charge of murder cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
At the time, Ms Dokhotaru ran an Instagram business selling imitation designer goods and operated a solarium from her apartment.
Zayat is accused of stealing a "substantial" amount of cash earned from these businesses which his former partner stored in a pink shoebox.
At the time, he owed thousands of dollars in fines, the court was told.
He returned to the Liverpool complex the following day.
"Help, is someone there? Can someone please help me?" he was heard shouting around 8pm on May 27 after he had visited his ex's apartment.
He was seen crying by a number of witnesses and told police Ms Dokhotaru had expressed suicidal thoughts days earlier.
"She's been so depressed, I shouldn't have left her alone," he said.
Mr Morris told the jury the 30-year-old had a tendency to act violently and abusive towards partner during their dysfunctional relationship and after they split up.
A two-year apprehended domestic violence order taken out in the Local Court in May 2022 was designed to protect Ms Dokhotaru, Mr Morris said.
In April 2023, she allegedly told friends Zayat had dragged her by the hair and spat on her.
He gave her a black eye during another violent outburst just over a week before she died, the jury heard.
Defence barrister Madeleine Avenell SC said her client did not deny he had been in a "volatile and dysfunctional" relationship with Ms Dokhotaru.
There was no dispute the pair had an argument late at night on May 26, 2023 in her apartment.
But Zayat rejected claims he had been violent towards his former partner or he had killed her, Ms Avenell said.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
7°C