Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was located.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and placed in a sandy grave with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.
Her body were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach β a section of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.
In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Particulars
The jurors were led around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India β leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
Prosecution Argument
It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case β though circumstantial β was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The court has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the incident β and that its travel matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defence Position
"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire described his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror β something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified previously.
The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect β and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were found.
Images showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.
The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.