Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Murder Case Visits Beach Where Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several alternates visited the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Location Details
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four markers indicated where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was given.
Background of the Case
Last week, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the state said.
State Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, 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 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 taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been found.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that genetic material recovered from a object at the scene was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defence Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence previously.
The court was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her body were found.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.