Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Homicide Case Visits Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a sandy grave with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
Her body 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 northern Australia.
Jury Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Details
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony 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 departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those items were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was located 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 evidence – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defense Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence previously.
The court was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her remains were discovered.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the photos 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.
