Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered

Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote shore where the victim was located.

The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has heard.

The remains were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline 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 several back-up jurors visited the location along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Location Details

The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four markers indicated where the vehicle had been left.

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

Context of the Trial

Previously, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and relatives.

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

Prosecution Case

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

The victim was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.

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

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.

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

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

This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a stick at the scene was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

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

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.

Defense Stance

"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.

The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."

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

Additional Testimony

Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.

The court heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were discovered.

Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.

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