Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Homicide Case Visits Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Found
Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal chance of survival, the jury has been told.
The remains were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Beach
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the location along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Details
The jurors were led around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was intended to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Context of the Case
Previously, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the state said.
State Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a post hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed 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 apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was one 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 vanishing, prior to her body were discovered.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.
