Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Case Visits Beach At Which Victim Was Found

Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was located.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the court has been told.

Her body were discovered by a family member the next 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 murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Court Visit to Beach

The panel of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors visited the location along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been left.

The trip was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.

Context of the Case

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.

He was not heard from until he was arrested 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 pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings missing.

Those objects were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a post hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.

The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.

But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will involve evidence that genetic material recovered from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has claimed.

Defence Stance

"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.

The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was one who testified last week.

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 partner's vanishing, even before her body were found.

Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.

The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.