Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Case Tours Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
Her body were found 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, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors visited the beach 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, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Particulars
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Case
Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a post concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that genetic material recovered from a object at the location was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The jury has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defence Position
"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 defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "placid" 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 apprehension, 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 "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 excluded as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence last week.
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 implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her body were discovered.
Images depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.