Jury in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Found
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated 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 chance of survival, the court has heard.
Her body were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Details
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four markers indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a post concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence that DNA 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 evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device 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 sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the state has argued.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... 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, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" 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 court was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her body were found.
Images showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.
