Jury in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Beach Where Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.
Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus several alternates visited the location along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.
The trip 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 day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence that genetic material obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The jury has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Position
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence previously.
The court was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were discovered.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.