Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Found

Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have traveled to the remote shore where the young woman was located.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and placed in a sandy grave with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has been told.

Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Jury Visit to Beach

The jury of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Location Details

The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

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

The trip was designed to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the case and no testimony was given.

Background of the Case

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and parents.

He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.

State Case

It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.

Those items were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was located tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.

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 indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the scene was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The court has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach 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 pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.

Defence Stance

"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.

The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his defendant 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 apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Additional Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.

The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her remains were found.

Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.

The trial will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.