Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Murder Case Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the jury has heard.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Visit to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions 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 defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Particulars
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that genetic material recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The court has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.
The trial heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her remains were discovered.
Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any way.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.