Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Case Tours Beach Where Deceased Was Found
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Queensland murder trial have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was located.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
Her body were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the case and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Case
Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.
Those items were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found tied up to a tree hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defense Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire 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 possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.
The trial was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her body were found.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.
