Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Murder Trial Visits Beach Where Deceased Was Found

Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has heard.

The remains were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Jury Inspection to Beach

The jury of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Scene Details

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

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.

The trip was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.

Background of the Trial

Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.

He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the state said.

State Case

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

The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.

Those objects were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found secured to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.

The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been found.

But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include evidence that DNA recovered from a stick at the scene was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The jury has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.

Defence Stance

"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a rushed single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.

The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – 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 suspicion.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.

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

Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.

The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.