Jury in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Case Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Found

Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.

The remains were found 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 killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Court Visit to Beach

The jury of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the location 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 opted for a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Location Particulars

The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.

Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.

The trip was intended to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the case and no official evidence was given.

Background of the Trial

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and parents.

He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.

Prosecution Argument

It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.

Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found secured to a post concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.

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

But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the scene was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The jury has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.

Defense Stance

"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.

The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – 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 suspicion.

Further Testimony

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 initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her remains were discovered.

Images depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.

The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.