Jury in High-Profile Australian Murder Trial Visits Beach Where Victim Was Found
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have traveled to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the court has heard.
The remains were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Particulars
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the case and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those items were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip 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, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The trial was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her remains were found.
Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.