Jury in Prominent Australian Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Found
Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with minimal hope of surviving, the court has been told.
The remains were discovered by a family member the following 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 Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four markers indicated where the vehicle had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Trial
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
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 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 walk, was found secured to a post hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence 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 public.
The court has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Stance
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.
The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.
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 previously.
The court was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.
Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.
