Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Homicide Case Visits Shoreline Where Deceased Was Discovered

Jurors involved in a high-profile Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the young woman was located.

The 24-year-old victim 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 been told.

Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Jury Visit to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.

In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

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

Location Particulars

The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four markers indicated where the victim's car had been parked.

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

Background of the Case

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

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

State Case

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

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

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

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located secured to a post hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.

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

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

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

The jury has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.

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

Defense Stance

"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.

The defense is yet to present any evidence, 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 wrong time."

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

Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who testified last week.

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

Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a companion 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 doctored in any way.

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