Jury in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Tours Beach Where Victim 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.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the court has heard.
Her body were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors visited the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Details
The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to see 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 Case
Last week, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those items were taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include 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 public.
The court has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has claimed.
Defence Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The court was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her body were found.
Photographs depicting 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 photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.