Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Tours Shoreline Where Victim Was Found
Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Queensland homicide case have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the jury has heard.
The remains were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach â a section of shoreline 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.
Jury Inspection to Beach
The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Details
The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several markers indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the case and no official evidence was given.
Context of the Trial
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India â leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
State Case
It is claimed 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 discovered wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings missing.
Those objects were removed by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a post hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the crown's case â though indirect â was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material recovered from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.
The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident â and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror â 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.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.
The court heard he was an initial person of interest â and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were found.
Images depicting the witness on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.
The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.