Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy grave with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.
Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Details
The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare 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 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 walk, was located tied up to a post hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified previously.
The court was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were found.
Images showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.
