Jury in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Case Tours Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Found
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the court has been told.
The remains were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Details
The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the case and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defence Position
"While authorities were finding 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 provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants assault 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 suspicion.
Additional Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified previously.
The court heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, prior to her body were discovered.
Images showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any way.
The case will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.