Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Victim Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote shore where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
The remains were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline 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 Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Details
The jurors were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those items were removed by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located tied up to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – 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.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified previously.
The court was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, even before her remains were found.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.
