Jury in Prominent Down Under Homicide Case Tours Beach Where Deceased Was Found

Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the victim was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the court has heard.

Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Court Inspection to Beach

The jury of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the location along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

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

Location Details

The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.

The visit was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was given.

Context of the Case

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.

He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.

Prosecution Argument

It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.

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

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a post hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.

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

But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The jury has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has claimed.

Defense Position

"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.

The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Additional Testimony

Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence last week.

The court was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before 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 expert saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any way.

The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.