Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Tours Shoreline Where Deceased Was Found
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated beach where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow grave with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.
The remains were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing 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 location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Details
The jurors were guided around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the trial and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
State Case
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a object at the scene was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has argued.
Defence Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified previously.
The trial heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, even before her remains were discovered.
Images depicting the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The case will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.