Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Case Visits Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and placed in a sandy grave with minimal chance of survival, the jury has heard.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several markers indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those objects were removed by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times 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 phone departed the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defence Position
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was among those who testified previously.
The court was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.
Photographs depicting the witness on a walk with a friend 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 way.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.
