Jury in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered

Wangetti Beach scene
The body of Toyah Cordingley was discovered on a remote beach in northern Queensland in 2018.

Jurors overseeing a high-profile Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.

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

The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Jury Visit to Crime Scene

The jury 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 local time.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Location Details

The court members were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

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

The visit was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.

Context of the Case

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.

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

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

Prosecution Case

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

The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings missing.

Those objects were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.

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

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

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

This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.

The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.

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

Defense 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 defence is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."

The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified previously.

The trial was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.

Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.

The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.

Maria Marshall
Maria Marshall

Landscape architect with over 10 years of experience specializing in eco-friendly outdoor designs and sustainable materials.