Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy grave with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.
Her body were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach β a section of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus three alternates visited the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Particulars
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was intended to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused flew from Australia to India β abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the evidence β though indirect β was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that DNA obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident β and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, 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 initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear β something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.
The court was informed he was an immediate police suspect β and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any way.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.