Jury in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Found
Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors visited the location along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Case
Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those objects were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defense Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
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 boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The court was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her remains were discovered.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.