Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Case Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered

Wangetti Beach scene
The remains of Toyah Cordingley were found on a secluded beach in northern Queensland back in 2018.

Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the victim was located.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal chance of survival, the court has heard.

Her body were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Court Visit to Crime Scene

The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Details

The jurors were led around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers indicated where the victim's car had been left.

The visit was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was given.

Context of the Trial

Last week, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and parents.

He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the state said.

Court officials at the beach
Justice Lincoln Crowley with barristers and other personnel at Wangetti Beach.

State Argument

It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings 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 stroll, was found secured to a post concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.

The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will involve evidence that genetic material recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The jury has previously been told testimony 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 quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has claimed.

Defence Stance

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.

The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants assault 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 "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.

The trial heard 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, even before her body were found.

Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.

The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.

Mr. Jared Johnson
Mr. Jared Johnson

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