Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Murder Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow 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 shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.
Jury Inspection to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors visited the beach along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Details
The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been left.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare 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 most of her possessions missing.
Those objects were removed by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located tied up to a post concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a object at the scene was extremely more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member 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 travel matched those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, 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 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 "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified last week.
The court was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.
Photographs showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.
The trial will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.