Jury in Prominent Down Under Homicide Trial Tours Shoreline Where Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following 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 Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was designed to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was given.
Context of the Case
Previously, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.
Those items were taken by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located tied up to a post concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Position
"As the police were finding 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 defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The court was informed he was an immediate 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.
Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any way.
The case will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.