Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Tours Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy grave with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
Her body were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Visit to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the case and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those objects were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located secured to a post concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the scene was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The jury has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" 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 told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified previously.
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 implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Images depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.