Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Trial Tours Beach Where Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy resting place with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.
Her body were found by a family member the next 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 weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the trial and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those objects were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that DNA obtained from a object at the scene 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 killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has argued.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey 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, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence previously.
The trial was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her remains were discovered.
Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.