Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
Her body were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located secured to a post hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The jury has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Stance
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her remains were discovered.
Images showing the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.
