Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Tours Shoreline Where Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has been told.
Her body were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Details
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions 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 walk, was located secured to a tree hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that genetic material obtained from a stick at the scene was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Stance
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.
The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants assault 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 individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified last week.
The court heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.
Images showing the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.