Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Tours Shoreline Where Deceased Was Found
Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
Her body were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse 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 belongings absent.
Those items were taken by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was located secured to a post concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that genetic material recovered from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The jury has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has claimed.
Defense Position
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.
The trial heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her body were found.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.