Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Tours Beach Where Deceased Was Discovered

Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the victim was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal chance of survival, the jury has heard.

Her body were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Court Inspection to Crime Scene

The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates visited the location along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

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

Location Particulars

The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach 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 parked.

The visit was designed to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.

Background of the Trial

Previously, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.

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

State Argument

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

The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.

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

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.

The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

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

The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the accused.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has claimed.

Defense Stance

"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.

The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" 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 told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "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 among those who testified previously.

The court was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, prior to her body were discovered.

Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.

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