Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Found
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.
Her body were discovered by her father 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.
Court Visit to Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several 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 sweltering heat, the judge opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.
The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the state said.
State Case
It is alleged that the defendant, 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 belongings missing.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a post concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence that DNA recovered from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court 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 sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has claimed.
Defense Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men attack 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 "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who testified last week.
The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her body were found.
Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.
