Jury in Prominent Australian Homicide Trial Visits Beach Where Victim Was Discovered
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy grave with minimal hope of surviving, the court has been told.
Her body were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline 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.
Jury Visit to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Location Details
The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were taken by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include testimony that DNA recovered 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 already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has claimed.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" 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 plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack 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 "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.
The court was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her body were found.
Images showing the witness on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.
