Jury in Prominent Down Under Homicide Trial Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Found

Wangetti Beach scene
The remains of Toyah Cordingley was discovered on a secluded coastline in northern Queensland in 2018.

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

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a sandy resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.

The remains were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Jury Inspection to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus several alternates visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, shorts and headwear.

Location Particulars

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

Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the victim's car had been left.

The trip was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.

Context of the Trial

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.

He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the state said.

Court officials at the beach
The judge with legal representatives and other court officials at Wangetti Beach.

Prosecution Case

It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.

Those objects were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located tied up to a post hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.

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

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

This will include testimony that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The jury has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.

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

Defence Position

"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.

The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

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

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

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.

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

Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.

The case will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.

Kaitlin Williams
Kaitlin Williams

A seasoned gaming journalist with a passion for slot machines and player advocacy.