Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Homicide Case Tours Beach Where Victim Was Found
Jurors involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
The remains were found by a family member the next 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 killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Location Particulars
The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was intended to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those objects were taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that DNA obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defense Stance
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony 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 "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded 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 parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.