Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Case Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy resting place with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.
The remains were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch 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 Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was designed to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no testimony was given.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the state said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those objects 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 secured to a post concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that genetic material obtained 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 population.
The jury has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.
The court heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her remains were found.
Images showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.