Jury in High-Profile Down Under Murder Trial Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Discovered

Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated beach where the victim was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a sandy resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.

Her body were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Court Visit to Beach

The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.

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 prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been left.

The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the case and no official evidence was given.

Context of the Case

Previously, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning 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 alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

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

Those objects were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.

The weapon was found, and no one have been found.

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will involve testimony that genetic material obtained from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.

Defence Position

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.

The defence is yet to provided testimony, 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 wrong time."

He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."

Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was among those who testified previously.

The trial was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her remains were found.

Images showing the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.

The case will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.