Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the remote shore where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the court has heard.
The remains were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The panel of 12 individuals plus several alternates visited the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Details
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the case and no testimony was given.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were removed by the killer 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 bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the state has argued.
Defence Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified previously.
The court was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.
Images depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.