Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Tours Beach Where Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with little or no hope of surviving, the court has been told.
Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline 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.
Court Visit to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates visited the location along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Details
The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was located secured to a post concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The court has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the state has claimed.
Defence 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 opened his case.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.
The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were found.
Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The case will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.