Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Found
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal chance of survival, the jury has heard.
Her body were found by her father 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 murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Inspection to Beach
The jury of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The jurors were led around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several markers indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the jurors 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 discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will include evidence that DNA obtained from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – 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 guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently 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."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, prior to her remains were discovered.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an expert 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 courtroom on the next day.
