Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Case Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated shore where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and placed 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 shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several alternates visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no testimony was given.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The jury has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, prior to her body were found.
Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.
