Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Trial Tours Beach At Which Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have traveled to the isolated beach where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a sandy resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Inspection to Beach
The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Particulars
The jurors were guided around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was given.
Context 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 – abandoning his wife, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were taken by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found tied up to a post concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no one have been found.
But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence that genetic material recovered from a object at the location was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The court has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has argued.
Defense Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
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 assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.
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 disappearance, prior to her remains were discovered.
Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.