Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Case Tours Shoreline At Which Victim Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have traveled to the remote shore where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four markers showed where the vehicle had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defence Position
"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 defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" 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 witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who testified previously.
The trial was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were found.
Photographs showing the witness on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.