Jury in Prominent Down Under Homicide Trial Tours Shoreline At Which Deceased Was Discovered

Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was located.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.

Her body were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Court Visit to Crime Scene

The panel of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended 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, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Location Particulars

The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been parked.

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

Context of the Case

Previously, the Cairns Supreme 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 out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.

Prosecution Case

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

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

Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was located tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.

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

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

This will involve testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The jury has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has claimed.

Defense Stance

"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.

The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence previously.

The trial heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her remains were discovered.

Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.

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