Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Trial Visits Beach Where Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the remote shore where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has been told.
The remains were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline 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.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Particulars
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several markers indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
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 – leaving behind his spouse, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.
Those objects were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found secured to a post hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that genetic material obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has claimed.
Defence Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The court heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her remains were found.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.
