Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Beach Where Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
Her body were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several markers showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
State Case
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found tied up to a post concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the scene was extremely more probable to have originated 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 beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The trial was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.
Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the date 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 way.
The case will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.