Jury in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have traveled to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.
The remains were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section 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 northern Australia.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended the location along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Details
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the case and no testimony was given.
Background of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those objects were removed by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence 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 already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, 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 the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The trial heard he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her body were found.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.
