Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy resting place with little or no chance of survival, the jury has heard.
Her body were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline 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.
Court Visit to Beach
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates visited the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Particulars
The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the case and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
State Case
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those objects were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was located secured to a post concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material 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 court has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defence Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – 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 boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The trial was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures 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.
