Jury in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates visited the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several markers indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Context of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested 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 confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those items were removed by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury 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 belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The court heard he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her remains were found.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk 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 case will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.
