🔗 Share this article

Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object 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 section of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Jury Inspection to Beach

The jury of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

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

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 red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been parked.

The visit was designed to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no testimony was presented.

Context of the Case

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.

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

Prosecution Case

It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse 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 belongings absent.

Those objects were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found secured to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.

No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.

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

This will include testimony that genetic material recovered from a stick at the scene was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.

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

Defense Stance

"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.

The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."

The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.

The trial was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, prior to her body were found.

Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.

The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.