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Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has heard.

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

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

Court Visit to Beach

The panel of 10 men and two women plus several alternates attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Location Particulars

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

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been parked.

The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.

Context of the Trial

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and parents.

He was not heard from until he was apprehended 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 altercation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire 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 taken to the beach for a walk, was located tied up to a tree concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.

The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will include testimony that genetic material recovered from a object at the scene was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.

The court has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.

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

Defense Position

"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.

The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."

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

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.

The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.

Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.

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