Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Homicide Case Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered

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

Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was located.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has heard.

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

The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend 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 in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Location Particulars

The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been left.

The trip was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no testimony was given.

Background of the Trial

Previously, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and parents.

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

Court officials at the beach
Justice Lincoln Crowley with legal representatives and other personnel at Wangetti Beach.

Prosecution Argument

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

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

Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a post hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.

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

But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The court has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.

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

Defence Stance

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

The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Additional Testimony

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified last week.

The trial heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, prior to her body were found.

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

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

Nathan Byrd
Nathan Byrd

A seasoned lottery analyst with over a decade of experience in probability studies and jackpot forecasting.