Jury in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
The remains were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Beach
The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Details
The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.
Background of the Case
Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those items were taken by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was located tied up to a post concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that genetic material recovered from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defence Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified previously.
The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.
Images showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.