Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Case Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote shore where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy grave with minimal 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 coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus several alternates visited the beach along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Details
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was intended to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the trial and no testimony was given.
Background of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the state said.
State Case
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found tied up to a post concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that genetic material recovered from a object at the scene was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defense Position
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants 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 "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The court was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her body were found.
Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.