Jury in Prominent Down Under Homicide Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the jury has heard.
Her body were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the location along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located secured to a post hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that DNA recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The court heard he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her body were found.
Images depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.