Jury in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Found
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal chance of survival, the jury has been told.
Her body were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline 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 northern Australia.
Court Visit to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were led around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located tied up to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material recovered from a object at the scene was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has argued.
Defense Position
"While authorities were discovering 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 "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.
The trial was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, prior to her body were found.
Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.