Jury in High-Profile Australian Murder Case Visits Shoreline Where Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a sandy resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.
Her body were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Visit to Beach
The panel of 12 individuals plus three alternates visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were led 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 markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the state said.
State Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The court has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip 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, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The trial 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 partner's vanishing, even before her body were discovered.
Images depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.