Jury in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy grave with minimal chance of survival, the jury has been told.
The remains were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four markers showed where the victim's car had been left.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.
Context of the Case
Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The jury has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched 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 claimed.
Defence Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away 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, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The court was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her body were discovered.
Images depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.