Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Homicide Case Tours Beach At Which Victim Was Found
Jurors overseeing 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 stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has heard.
The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section 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 Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Beach
The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the beach along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Details
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those objects were taken by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a stick at the scene was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defence Position
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location 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 witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified previously.
The court heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her body were found.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The case will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.
