Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy grave with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled 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.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the beach along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Details
The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those items were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a post concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence that genetic material recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the state has claimed.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence 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 fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.
The trial heard 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 vanishing, prior to her body were found.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.
