Jury in Prominent Australian Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the court has heard.
The remains were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several alternates visited the location along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Particulars
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located secured to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane 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 client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial 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 "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence last week.
The court heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.