Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the court has heard.
The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Particulars
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several 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 trial and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the state has argued.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence last week.
The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, prior to her body were found.
Images depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.