Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Case Tours Beach At Which Victim Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried 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 next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several alternates attended the beach along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four markers showed where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was given.
Background of the Case
Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those items were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the state has claimed.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence previously.
The trial was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, prior to her body were discovered.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.