Jury in Prominent Down Under Homicide Case Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was located.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy grave with minimal chance of survival, the court has heard.
Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The jury of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Scene Details
The jurors were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context 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 – leaving behind his wife, family and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the state said.
State Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those objects were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found tied up to a post hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.
The weapon was ever recovered, and no one 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 obtained from a object at the scene was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Stance
"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.
The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.
The court was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her body were found.
Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.
