Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Case Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has been told.
Her body were found by a family member the next 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 Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Particulars
The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the vehicle had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the trial and no testimony was given.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located secured to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that DNA recovered from a object at the scene was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
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 attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence previously.
The trial was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her remains were found.
Images depicting the witness on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.
The case will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.