Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Homicide Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Found
Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has been told.
Her body were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline 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.
Court Visit to Beach
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the beach along with the judge and barristers 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 trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Location Particulars
The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.
The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the trial and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those items were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence 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 already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has claimed.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed 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 opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who testified last week.
The trial heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were found.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.