Jury in Prominent Down Under Murder Case Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered

Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the court has been told.

Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Jury Visit to Crime Scene

The jury of 10 men and two women plus several alternates attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Scene Particulars

The jurors were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the vehicle had been left.

The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.

Context of the Case

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and parents.

He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the state said.

Prosecution Argument

It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.

Those objects were taken by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.

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

But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.

The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has claimed.

Defense Position

"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.

The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Additional Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence last week.

The court was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her body were found.

Images depicting the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.

The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.