Jury in High-Profile Australian Murder Case Visits Shoreline Where Deceased Was Found
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates visited the location along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers indicated where the victim's car had been left.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.
Those objects were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defence Stance
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.
The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently 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 "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.
The court was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, prior to her remains were discovered.
Images depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown 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 return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.
