Jury in High-Profile Australian Murder Case Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Found
Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Australian homicide case have traveled to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the tourist centres 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 Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Location Particulars
The jurors were guided around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that DNA recovered from a object at the location was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the state has argued.
Defense Position
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – 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.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was one who testified previously.
The court heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, prior to her remains were discovered.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.
