Jury in Prominent Down Under Homicide Case Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
The remains were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the location along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Details
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several markers showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found tied up to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that DNA recovered from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The jury has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the state has argued.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who testified previously.
The court heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her body were found.
Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, 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 courtroom on the next day.
