Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and placed in a sandy 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 shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors attended the beach along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Details
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those objects were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located tied up to a post hidden 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 crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen two masked men assault 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 suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified previously.
The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her body were found.
Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.
