Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a sandy grave with little or no hope of surviving, the court has heard.
The remains were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Details
The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several markers showed where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the state said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a post hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was one who testified previously.
The court was informed 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 girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her body were found.
Images showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.
