Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Visits Beach Where Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has been told.
The remains were discovered 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 killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several alternates visited the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Location Particulars
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been left.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those items were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located secured to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The court has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has claimed.
Defense Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her body were found.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.
