Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a sandy grave with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Beach
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several alternates visited the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.
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 prosecuting and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Details
The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four markers indicated where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those objects were removed by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found secured to a post hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that DNA obtained from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed evidence 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 run away 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.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified previously.
The court was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, prior to her body were found.
Photographs depicting the witness on a walk 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 authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.
