Jury in Prominent Down Under Murder Case Visits Beach Where Victim Was Discovered
Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Australian homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.
The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a sandy grave with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.
Her body were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach β a stretch of coastline 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 Inspection to Crime Scene
The panel of 12 individuals plus three alternates visited the beach along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.
Scene Details
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was given.
Background of the Case
Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India β abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.
He was out of contact until he was arrested four years later, the state said.
State Argument
It is alleged that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.
No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case β though indirect β was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will include evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.
The jury has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing β and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.
Defence Position
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear β something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.
Further Testimony
Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.
The court was informed he was an immediate police suspect β and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her remains were discovered.
Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.
The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.