Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Queensland murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
The remains were discovered 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, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Beach
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four markers indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed 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 found wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.
Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the state has argued.
Defence Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, 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 witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence previously.
The trial was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her remains were found.
Photographs showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the day 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 manner.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.