Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Trial Tours Shoreline Where Deceased Was Found

Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the remote shore where the young woman was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the court has been told.

The remains were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Court Inspection to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Location Particulars

The jurors were led around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the vehicle had been parked.

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

Background of the Trial

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and parents.

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

Prosecution Argument

It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.

Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a post concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.

The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses 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 testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The court has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.

Defense Position

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.

The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away 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 investigation.

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, 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 initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were found.

Images depicting the witness on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.

The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.