Jury in Prominent Down Under Murder Case Visits Beach Where Victim Was Found
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow grave with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
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, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several markers indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was intended to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Case
Last week, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those items were taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that DNA recovered from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.
The trial heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, prior to her remains were found.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day 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 way.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.
