Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Tours Beach Where Victim Was Discovered

Wangetti Beach scene
The body of Toyah Cordingley was discovered on a secluded coastline in northern Queensland in 2018.

Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal chance of survival, the jury has heard.

The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Court Visit to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors visited the location along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Details

The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.

The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the trial and no testimony was presented.

Background of the Trial

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.

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

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

Prosecution Case

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

The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.

Those objects were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located secured to a post concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.

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

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

This will involve evidence that genetic material recovered from a stick at the scene was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The court has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device 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 suggested his guilt, the state has argued.

Defense Position

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.

The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled 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 suspicion.

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence previously.

The court heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, even before her body were discovered.

Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.

The case will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.

James Costa
James Costa

A seasoned casino enthusiast with over a decade of experience in online gaming and strategy development.