Jury in Prominent Down Under Murder Case Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Found
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow grave with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.
The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Visit to Beach
The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Details
The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four markers showed where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those items were taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a tree concealed in bushland 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 indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a object at the scene was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the state has claimed.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister 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 later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – 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 suspicion.
Further 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 heard he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her remains were discovered.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.
