Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Case Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Found
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow grave with little or no hope of surviving, the court has heard.
Her body were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several markers showed where the vehicle had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, 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 found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.
The court was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.