Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Trial Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Found

Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the isolated beach where the young woman was located.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.

Her body were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Jury Inspection to Crime Scene

The jury of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors attended the beach along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning local time.

In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Location Details

The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several markers indicated where the victim's car had been left.

The trip was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.

Context of the Trial

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.

He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the state said.

Prosecution Case

It is claimed that Mr Singh, 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 swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.

Those objects were taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located secured to a post hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.

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

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

This will include testimony that genetic material recovered from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has claimed.

Defence Stance

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.

The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.

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

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

The case will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.