Jury in Prominent Australian Homicide Trial Tours Shoreline Where Deceased Was Found
Jurors involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have traveled to the isolated shore where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and buried in a sandy resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Location Particulars
The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several markers indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were removed by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located tied up to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has argued.
Defense Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants 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 testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.
The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, prior to her body were discovered.
Images showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, 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 standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.