🔗 Share this article

Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with little or no hope of surviving, the court has been told.

Her body were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline 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.

Jury Visit to Crime Scene

The panel of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors visited the location along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

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

Location Particulars

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

Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.

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

Context of the Trial

Last week, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.

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

Prosecution Argument

It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was found wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.

Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found tied up to a post concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.

The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.

But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will include evidence that DNA recovered from a stick at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has claimed.

Defence Position

"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.

The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."

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

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence last week.

The trial was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her body were discovered.

Images depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.

The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.