Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal chance of survival, the court has heard.
Her body were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Inspection to Beach
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several alternates visited 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, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Details
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was located tied up to a tree hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.
The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – 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 investigation.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified last week.
The trial was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her remains were found.
Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.
The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.