Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Homicide Case Tours Beach Where Victim Was Found
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy grave with little or no chance of survival, the court has heard.
Her body were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Details
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the case and no official evidence was given.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
State Case
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those objects were removed by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a post concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence that DNA recovered from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The jury has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defense Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The trial heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her remains were discovered.
Images showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.