Jury in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Tours Beach At Which Victim Was Discovered

Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has heard.

Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Court Visit to Crime Scene

The jury of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and headwear.

Scene Details

The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.

The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no official evidence was presented.

Background of the Case

Last week, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.

He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.

State Case

It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community 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 assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a post hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.

No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.

But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will include testimony that genetic material recovered from a stick at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The jury has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.

Defense Position

"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.

The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, 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 subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."

Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was among those who testified last week.

The trial was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were discovered.

Images showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any way.

The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.