Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Case Visits Beach Where Victim Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled 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 jury of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those items were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located tied up to a tree hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that DNA recovered from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Stance
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The court was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were found.
Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.