Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have traveled to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.
Her body were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline 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 Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Details
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a stick 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 previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defence Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney 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 authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified last week.
The court heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her body were found.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.