Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Tours Beach Where Deceased Was Found
Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have traveled to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.
The remains were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Inspection to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the location along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Details
The court members were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those objects were removed by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was located secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve testimony that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants attack 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 other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence previously.
The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her remains were discovered.
Images showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.
