Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Victim Was Found

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

Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the jury has been told.

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

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

Court Visit to Crime Scene

The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates visited the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.

The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.

Background of the Case

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and relatives.

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

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

State Argument

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

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

Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found tied up to a tree hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.

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

But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will involve testimony that DNA recovered 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 evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.

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

Defense Stance

"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.

The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – 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 investigation.

Additional Testimony

Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.

The court heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her remains were discovered.

Images depicting the witness on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.

The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.

Donald Elliott
Donald Elliott

A passionate writer and researcher with a knack for uncovering compelling stories and sharing them with a global audience.