Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Homicide Case Tours Beach At Which Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the jury has been told.
The remains were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those items were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found secured to a post concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defense Position
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was among those who testified previously.
The trial heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.
