Jury in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Victim Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have traveled to the isolated beach where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the jury has heard.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled 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 Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were led around 1.2km along the beach to see 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 intended to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.
Those items were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found secured to a post concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away 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 Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The trial heard he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.
Images depicting the witness on a hike 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 authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.
