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Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and buried in a sandy grave with little or no hope of surviving, the court has been told.

Her body were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

The accused, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Jury Inspection to Beach

The panel of 10 men and two women plus several alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Location Particulars

The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.

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

Context of the Case

Last week, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and relatives.

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

Prosecution Case

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 pharmacy worker 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 dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found tied up to a tree concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.

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

But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.

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

Defence Position

"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.

The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" 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 informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

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

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified previously.

The trial was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her body were found.

Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.

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