Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline Where Deceased Was Found
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote shore where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
Her body were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus several 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 sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four markers indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those objects were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found tied up to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The court has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" 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 apprehension, Mr Singh informed 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 investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was one who testified last week.
The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her remains were discovered.
Photographs depicting 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 pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.
