Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Homicide Case Tours Shoreline Where Victim Was Found

Wangetti Beach scene
The body of Toyah Cordingley were found on a remote coastline in northern Queensland in 2018.

Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the isolated shore where the victim was located.

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

Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the popular destinations 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.

Jury Inspection to Crime Scene

The panel of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the beach along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

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

Scene Details

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

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers indicated where the victim's car had been left.

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

Background of the Case

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.

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

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

Prosecution Case

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

The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.

Those items were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located tied up to a post hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.

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

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

This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The jury has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.

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

Defense Position

"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.

The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."

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

Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who testified previously.

The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, prior to her body were discovered.

Photographs showing the witness on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.

The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.

Regina Knight
Regina Knight

Tech enthusiast and futurist with a passion for exploring how emerging technologies shape society and business landscapes.