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Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the victim was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the jury has heard.

The remains were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Jury Visit to Beach

The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors 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 temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Details

The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the victim's car had been left.

The visit was intended to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the trial and no testimony was presented.

Background of the Trial

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.

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

State Argument

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

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

Those objects were taken by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.

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

But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The court has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.

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

Defense Position

"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.

The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."

The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.

The trial heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, prior to her body were found.

Images showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.

The trial will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.