Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Found
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the victim was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy grave with little or no hope of surviving, the court has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline 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 Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge wore a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was given.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
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 discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defence Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.
The court was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her remains were discovered.
Images showing the witness on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.
