Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Trial Tours Beach At Which Victim Was Found
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy grave with little or no hope of surviving, the court has heard.
The remains were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section 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 northern Australia.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Details
The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no testimony was given.
Context of the Case
Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a post concealed in shrubland 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 indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the scene was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants attack 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 individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The trial was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her body were discovered.
Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.