Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Tours Beach At Which Victim Was Found
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.
Her body were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been left.
The trip was designed to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation 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 assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that genetic material recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The jury has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defense Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified last week.
The court was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.
Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.
