Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Found

Wangetti Beach scene
The remains of Toyah Cordingley were found on a remote coastline in Far North Queensland back in 2018.

Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the young woman was located.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and buried in a sandy resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.

The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

The accused, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Jury Visit to Beach

The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended the location along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, shorts and headwear.

Scene Details

The jurors were guided around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four markers showed where the victim's car had been left.

The trip was intended to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the case and no testimony was given.

Background 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 out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.

Court officials at the beach
Justice Lincoln Crowley with legal representatives and other personnel at Wangetti Beach.

Prosecution Case

It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings missing.

Those items 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 located secured to a post concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.

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

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

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

The court has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.

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

Defence Position

"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.

The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."

Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.

The trial was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her remains were found.

Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.

The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.

Rebecca Leblanc
Rebecca Leblanc

A tech enthusiast and business strategist with over a decade of experience in digital innovation and market analysis.