Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Case Visits Beach Where Victim Was Discovered

Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Queensland homicide case have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a sandy resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.

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 murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Court Visit to Crime Scene

The panel of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and headwear.

Scene Particulars

The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

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

The visit was designed to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.

Context of the Trial

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and relatives.

He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.

State Case

It is alleged that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.

The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.

Those objects were removed by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located tied up to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.

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

But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will include evidence that genetic material recovered from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The court has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the state has argued.

Defence Position

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor 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 "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

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

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence previously.

The trial was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her remains were discovered.

Images showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.

The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.