Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Homicide Case Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Found

Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has heard.

Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Jury Visit to Beach

The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended the location along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Location Particulars

The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains 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 jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was presented.

Background of the Trial

Last week, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.

He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.

Prosecution Argument

It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse 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 taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.

No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.

But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will involve evidence that DNA recovered from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The jury has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has argued.

Defence Position

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip 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 "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."

He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."

The defense attorney has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence previously.

The court was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her remains were found.

Images depicting the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any way.

The case will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.