Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Tours Beach Where Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy grave with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
The remains were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The court members were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those objects were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The jury has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has argued.
Defence Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence last week.
The court was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, even before her body were found.
Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.