🔗 Share this article

Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland murder trial have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.

Her body were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

The accused, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Court Visit to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Location Details

The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

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

The visit was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the case and no official evidence was given.

Context of the Case

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.

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

Prosecution Case

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

The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.

Those objects were taken by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.

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

But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include evidence that genetic material recovered from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The jury has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.

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

Defence Position

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

The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen assailants 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 suspicion.

Additional Testimony

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.

The court heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her remains were found.

Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.

The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.