Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy grave with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.
Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline 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.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer 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 casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The jurors 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 parked.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Case
Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
State Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
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 random member of the public.
The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "placid" 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 arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, 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 father about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.
