Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Case Visits Beach Where Deceased Was Found
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
Her body were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates visited the location along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several markers indicated where the victim's car had been left.
The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
It is alleged 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 bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence that genetic material recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence previously.
The court 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 discovered.
Photographs showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.