Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Tours Beach Where Deceased Was Found
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.
The remains were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled 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 Inspection to Beach
The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Particulars
The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew 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 Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered 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 taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has argued.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.
The defence 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 "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed 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 testify about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who testified previously.
The court heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her remains were found.
Images showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.