Jury in High-Profile Down Under Murder Trial Visits Shoreline Where Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was located.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.
Her body were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Details
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several markers showed where the victim's car had been left.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of 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 items were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defense Position
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer 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 later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men assault 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 individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.
The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her remains were found.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.
