Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Case Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Found
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated beach where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.
The remains were discovered by her father the following 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 Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Visit to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the trial and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the state said.
State Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found secured to a tree hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach 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 pointed to his guilt, 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," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.
The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The trial was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her body were found.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.