Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Trial Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Found
Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy grave with minimal chance of survival, the court has been told.
The remains 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 northern Australia.
Jury Visit to Beach
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The court members were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the case and no official evidence was given.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found secured to a tree hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve 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 random member of the population.
The jury has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has argued.
Defense Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.
The trial was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, prior to her body were discovered.
Photographs depicting the witness on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.