Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Case Tours Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal chance of survival, the court has been told.
Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Visit to Beach
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the beach along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Details
The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the trial and no testimony was given.
Background of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
State Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a tree hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been found.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the location was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The court has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who testified previously.
The trial was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her remains were discovered.
Photographs showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.