Jury in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.
The remains were found 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, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Location Details
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the vehicle had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no testimony was given.
Background of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
State Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those objects were taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located secured to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.
