Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Trial Tours Shoreline Where Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the jury has heard.
The remains were found 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, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Details
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, 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 familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Trial
Previously, 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, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those items were taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found secured to a post hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men 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 "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence 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 involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her body were discovered.
Images showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.