Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Homicide Case Tours Shoreline At Which Victim Was Found

Wangetti Beach scene
The body of Toyah Cordingley were found on a secluded beach in Far North Queensland back in 2018.

Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the jury has heard.

Her body were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Court Visit to Beach

The jury of 10 men and two women plus several alternates visited the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose 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 remains were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four markers showed where the vehicle had been left.

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

Context of the Case

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and parents.

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

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

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 pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.

Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was located secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.

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

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The court has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.

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

Defence Position

"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.

The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent 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 give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.

Further Evidence

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

The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, prior to her remains were discovered.

Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.

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

Judy Sanders
Judy Sanders

Lena is a tech journalist with over a decade of experience, specializing in consumer electronics and emerging technologies.