Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Case Tours Beach Where Victim Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy grave with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.
Her body were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations 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 Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several alternates attended the beach along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose 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 uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare 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 belongings missing.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located tied up to a tree hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
The weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defense Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.
The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed 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."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The trial 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 girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her body were found.
Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.