Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Homicide Case Tours Beach At Which Victim Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote shore where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Beach
The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the location along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a post hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that genetic material recovered from a object at the scene was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting 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 involvement, the state has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed 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."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The trial heard 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, even before her remains were discovered.
Images depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.
