Jury in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Found
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the jury has heard.
Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach β a stretch of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates visited the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The court members were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been left.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the case and no official evidence was given.
Context of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India β leaving behind his spouse, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
State Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those objects were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case β though circumstantial β was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence 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 population.
The court has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing β and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defence Position
"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location 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 witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror β something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The court heard he was an initial police suspect β and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were found.
Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.
