Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Case Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the court has heard.
Her body 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 murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The panel of 10 men and two women plus several alternates visited the location along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Location Details
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several markers indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Background of the Trial
Previously, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those objects were removed by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found tied up to a tree hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defence Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified last week.
The court heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were discovered.
Photographs showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.