Jury in Prominent Australian Homicide Case Visits Shoreline Where Deceased Was Found
Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Australian homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal chance of survival, the jury has been told.
Her body were discovered by a family member 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 Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Details
The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several markers showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the case and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those objects were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located tied up to a post hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that DNA recovered from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was among those who testified last week.
The court heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her remains were discovered.
Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.
