Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Tours Beach Where Victim Was Found

Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was discovered.

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

The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Court Visit to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

The jurors were led 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, several markers indicated where the vehicle had been left.

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

Background of the Trial

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

He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.

Prosecution Argument

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

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

Those items were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.

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

The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.

But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

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

The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.

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

Defense Position

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

The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" 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 told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants 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 give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who testified last week.

The trial heard he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her body were found.

Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.

The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.