Jury in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Tours Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated shore where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the jury has heard.
The remains were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates visited the location along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
State Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence 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 population.
The court has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Stance
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.
The trial heard 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 remains were discovered.
Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.