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Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy grave with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.

Her body were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline 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 northern Australia.

Jury Inspection to Crime Scene

The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates visited the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Location Details

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

Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.

The trip was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no official evidence was given.

Background of the Case

Last week, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and parents.

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

State Argument

It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.

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

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.

No murder weapon was found, and no one have been found.

But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will involve evidence that genetic material recovered from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times 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 scene after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.

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

Defense Position

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.

The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his client 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 assailants assault 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 individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified previously.

The court heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her body were found.

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

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