Jury in Prominent Down Under Homicide Case Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered

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

Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have been taken to the remote beach where the young woman was discovered.

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

The remains were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Court Inspection to Beach

The jury of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel 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, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Location Particulars

The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

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

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

Background of the Case

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

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

Court officials at the beach
Justice Lincoln Crowley with legal representatives and other personnel at Wangetti Beach.

State 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 victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.

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

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

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

But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will involve testimony that genetic material recovered from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.

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

Defense Stance

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.

The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "calm" and "caring" 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 arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."

Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence previously.

The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her body were found.

Photographs showing the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.

The case will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.

Johnathan Harrell
Johnathan Harrell

A seasoned gambling expert with over a decade of experience in online casino reviews and strategy development.