Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a high-profile Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the court has heard.
The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates visited the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Particulars
The court members 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 vehicle had been left.
The visit was intended to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a post concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has argued.
Defence Position
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.
The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was one who testified previously.
The court heard he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.
