Jury in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Australian murder trial have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has heard.
Her body were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those objects were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence that DNA obtained 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 public.
The jury has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.
The court was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her body were found.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.
