Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Case Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Found
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and placed in a sandy grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the case and no testimony was given.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those items were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located tied up to a post hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve testimony that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The court has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defence Stance
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants attack 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 Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.
The court heard he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were found.
Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown 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 return to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.