Jury in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Beach Where Victim Was Discovered

Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was located.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has been told.

Her body were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline 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.

Court Visit to Crime Scene

The panel of 12 individuals plus three alternates visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose polo shirts, shorts and headwear.

Location Details

The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.

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 important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.

Background of the Trial

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and relatives.

He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.

Prosecution Case

It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.

Those items were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree hidden 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 indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member 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 travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the state has argued.

Defense Position

"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.

The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants 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 "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.

The court was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.

Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.

The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.