Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Found
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal chance of survival, the court has been told.
Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Inspection to Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Particulars
The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the trial and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the state said.
State Case
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a tree hidden in bushland about 30 metres 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 findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.
The trial heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her remains were found.
Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.
