Jury in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Visits Shoreline Where Deceased Was Discovered

Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the remote beach where the young woman was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has heard.

The remains were found by a family member 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 murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Jury Visit to Beach

The jury of 10 men and two women plus three alternates visited the beach along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning local time.

In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

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

Location Particulars

The jurors were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been left.

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

Background of the Case

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 parents.

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

Prosecution Argument

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 victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.

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

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a post concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.

No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses 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 involve evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.

The jury has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing – 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 argued.

Defence 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 opened his case.

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

He also foreshadowed testimony 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 fear – 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.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.

The trial was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her body were discovered.

Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any way.

The trial will return to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on Tuesday.