Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Visits Shoreline Where Deceased Was Found
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy grave with minimal hope of surviving, the court has been told.
Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, the judge wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Details
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was designed to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Case
Last week, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, 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 altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located tied up to a tree hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that genetic material obtained from a object at the scene was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has already heard testimony 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 defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has argued.
Defense Position
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor 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 portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – 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 investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who testified previously.
The trial was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any way.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.
