Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Case Visits Beach Where Victim Was Found
Jurors involved in a high-profile Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed 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 a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Location Particulars
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
State Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who testified last week.
The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, prior to her body were found.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.
