Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Case Tours Shoreline Where Deceased Was Found

Wangetti Beach scene
The body of Toyah Cordingley was discovered on a secluded beach in northern Queensland back in 2018.

Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a sandy grave with minimal chance of survival, the jury has been told.

The remains were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Court Inspection to Crime Scene

The jury of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, the judge wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Details

The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the victim's car had been left.

The trip was designed to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.

Background of the Case

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.

He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the state said.

Court officials at the beach
The judge with legal representatives and other personnel at Wangetti Beach.

Prosecution Argument

It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was found wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.

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

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found tied up to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.

The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will involve testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.

The jury has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.

Defence Stance

"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.

The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

The defense attorney has also said he will testify about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.

The court heard he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were found.

Photographs showing the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any way.

The case will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.

Mark Brown
Mark Brown

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