Jury in High-Profile Australian Murder Case Tours Beach Where Victim Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.
The remains were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations 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 alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four markers indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community 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 taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no one have been found.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that DNA obtained from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defence Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified last week.
The trial was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, even before her body were discovered.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date 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 doctored in any way.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.