🔗 Share this article

Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the victim was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy grave with little or no hope of surviving, the court has heard.

Her body were discovered by her father the next 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 Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Court Visit to Crime Scene

The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

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

Scene Details

The court members were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four markers indicated where the vehicle had been left.

The trip was designed to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.

Background of the Trial

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.

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

Prosecution Argument

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

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

Those items were removed by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located secured to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.

No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.

But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.

The court has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.

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

Defense Position

"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip 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 "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

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

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.

The trial heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were discovered.

Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the date 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 return to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.