Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Case Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked 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 a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Visit to Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were led around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the vehicle had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the trial and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Last week, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The jury has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... 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 initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.
The court was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, prior to her remains were discovered.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.
