Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Found
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian homicide case have traveled to the remote shore where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with little or no hope of surviving, the court has heard.
Her body were found by her father 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 Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Particulars
The jurors were guided around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those items were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a tree hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described 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 later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified previously.
The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Images depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.