Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Case Tours Shoreline Where Victim Was Found
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy grave with little or no hope of surviving, the court has heard.
Her body were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the trial and no testimony was presented.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those objects were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her pet, 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 found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements 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 Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.
The trial heard 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 showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.