Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Found

Jurors overseeing a high-profile Australian homicide case have traveled to the remote shore where the victim was located.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.

Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Jury Inspection to Crime Scene

The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

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

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been parked.

The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the case and no official evidence was presented.

Background of the Trial

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and parents.

He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.

Prosecution Argument

It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse 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 belongings missing.

Those objects were removed by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a post hidden in shrubland 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 circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include evidence that DNA recovered from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The jury has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene 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.

Defence Stance

"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.

The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" 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 undercover officer he had seen two masked men 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 investigation.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence last week.

The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, prior to her remains were discovered.

Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.

The case will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.