Jury in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Visits Beach Where Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.
Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing 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 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 hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The court members were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
State Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those items were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located tied up to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that DNA recovered from a stick at the scene was extremely more probable to have originated 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 travel matched those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – 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 found.
Images showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.