🔗 Share this article

Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated beach where the victim was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has heard.

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

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

Court Inspection to Crime Scene

The jury of 10 men and two women plus three alternates visited the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Scene Details

The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.

The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was given.

Background of the Trial

Previously, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and relatives.

He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.

Prosecution Case

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

The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.

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

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located secured to a post concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.

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

But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.

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

Defense Stance

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

The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen assailants assault 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 individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.

Further Testimony

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

The court 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, prior to her body were found.

Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.

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