Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Trial Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Found
Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated beach where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and placed in a sandy resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has heard.
Her body were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Details
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Context of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located tied up to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has claimed.
Defence Stance
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away 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 investigation.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who testified previously.
The court was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her remains were found.
Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.
