Jury in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Queensland homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the court has been told.
The remains were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline 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.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Location Details
The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The trip was designed to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.
Context of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defence Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.
The court was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, even before her remains were found.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.
