Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
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 defense attorneys selected polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Details
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew 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 Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those items were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was located tied up to a tree concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that DNA recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence last week.
The court heard he was an immediate 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 depicting the witness on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.
