Jury in Prominent Australian Murder Case Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Found

Wangetti Beach scene
The remains of Toyah Cordingley were found on a secluded beach in Far North Queensland in 2018.

Jurors overseeing a high-profile Queensland murder trial have been taken to the isolated beach where the victim was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal chance of survival, the court has heard.

Her body were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline 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 Visit to Crime Scene

The jury of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, the judge wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Scene Details

The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been parked.

The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.

Background of the Trial

Last week, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and relatives.

He was not heard from until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.

Court officials at the beach
Justice Lincoln Crowley with legal representatives and other personnel at Wangetti Beach.

State Case

It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.

Those items were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.

No murder weapon was found, and no one have been identified.

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will include evidence that genetic material recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.

The court has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.

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

Defence Stance

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.

The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Additional Testimony

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified previously.

The court heard he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her remains were found.

Images showing the witness on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.

The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.

Gregory Ward
Gregory Ward

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