Jury in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Found
Jurors overseeing a high-profile Australian homicide case have traveled to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal chance of survival, the court has heard.
The remains were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to 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 several alternates attended 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 opted for a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.
Scene Details
The jurors were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several markers indicated where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
State Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were removed by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located tied up to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve testimony that genetic material recovered from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The court has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has argued.
Defense Stance
"As the police were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The trial heard he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, even before her body were found.
Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on Tuesday.
