Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Trial Tours Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the isolated shore where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object 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 next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the trial and no testimony was given.
Context of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a post 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 evidence – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, 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 initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack 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 investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified last week.
The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich 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 photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.