Jury in High-Profile Down Under Murder Trial Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Found
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated shore where the victim was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal chance of survival, the jury has been told.
The remains were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The court members were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the trial and no testimony was given.
Background of the Case
Last week, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found tied up to a tree hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that DNA recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has argued.
Defence Stance
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The trial heard he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her remains were discovered.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.