Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.
The remains were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus three alternates visited the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Last week, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were removed by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a tree concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The court has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defence Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.
The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, 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 pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.
