Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Trial Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Details
The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is claimed 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 removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, 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 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defence Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
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 boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The trial was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, prior to her remains were found.
Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the date 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 manner.
The trial will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.
