Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Found
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach β a stretch of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several alternates visited the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
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.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several markers showed where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the case and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India β abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found tied up to a tree concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the crown's case β though circumstantial β was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve testimony that genetic material recovered from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The court has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident β and that its movements matched those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror β 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 partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence previously.
The trial was informed he was an initial person of interest β 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 found.
Images depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.
