Jury in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Found
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and buried in a sandy grave with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the case and no testimony was given.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those objects were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defence Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.
The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence previously.
The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Images depicting the witness on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.