Jury in Prominent Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Found
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow grave with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
Her body were found by her father the following 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 killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Visit to Beach
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several alternates visited the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Details
The jurors were led around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the case and no testimony was given.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was located tied up to a post concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence that genetic material obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed 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 give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was one who testified previously.
The trial was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, prior to her remains were discovered.
Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.