Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Case Tours Beach Where Deceased Was Found
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal chance of survival, the court has been told.
Her body were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Visit to Beach
The panel of 12 individuals plus several alternates visited the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
State Case
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those items were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defence Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.
The court was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her body were discovered.
Images depicting 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 certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.
