Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Visits Shoreline Where Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the jury has heard.
The remains were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the location along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Location Details
The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
State Case
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town 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 removed by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that genetic material recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.
Images showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any way.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.