🔗 Share this article

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

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the court has heard.

The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Court Visit to Crime Scene

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

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

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

Scene Particulars

The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.

The visit was designed to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.

Background of the Trial

Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.

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

Prosecution Argument

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

The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.

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

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.

No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.

But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

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

The court has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has claimed.

Defence Stance

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.

The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen 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 individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence last week.

The court 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 vanishing, prior to her body were discovered.

Images depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.

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