🔗 Share this article

Jurors overseeing a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was located.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.

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

The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Jury Inspection to Beach

The jury of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

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

Location Details

The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.

The visit was designed to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the trial and no testimony was given.

Context of the Case

Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and parents.

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

Prosecution Argument

It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.

Those items were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a post concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.

No murder weapon was found, and no one have been found.

But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The court has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.

Defense Position

"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.

The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Further Evidence

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

The trial was informed he was an initial 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 found.

Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.

The case will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.