Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Murder Case Visits Beach Where Deceased Was Found
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal chance of survival, the court has heard.
The remains were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Details
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was designed to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those items were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found secured to a tree concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that genetic material obtained from a object at the scene was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is has not present any evidence, 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 unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.
The court heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, prior to her body were discovered.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.