Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Case Tours Shoreline Where Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch 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.
Court Inspection to Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the state said.
State Case
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those items were removed by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found tied up to a tree hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach 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 suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defence Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place 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 witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified previously.
The court was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her body were discovered.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.