Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Found
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy grave with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Visit to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Details
The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.
Background of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those items were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the scene was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men 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 individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence 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, prior to her remains were found.
Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.
