Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered

Wangetti Beach scene
The remains of Toyah Cordingley was discovered on a secluded beach in Far North Queensland back in 2018.

Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.

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

Her body were found by her father the next 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 weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Jury Visit to Crime Scene

The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

The court members were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been parked.

The trip was designed to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.

Context of the Trial

Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.

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

Court officials at the beach
Justice Lincoln Crowley with legal representatives and other personnel at Wangetti Beach.

Prosecution Argument

It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.

The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.

Those objects were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a tree concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.

The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.

But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will involve testimony that DNA recovered from a stick at the location was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The jury has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has claimed.

Defense Position

"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.

The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

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 run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence last week.

The court was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, prior to her remains were discovered.

Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the day 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 doctored in any manner.

The case will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.

Andre Gordon
Andre Gordon

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