Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Homicide Case Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Found
Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the court has been told.
The remains were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was intended to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the state said.
State Case
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found secured to a tree hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that genetic material recovered from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.
The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her body were found.
Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.
