Jury in High-Profile Down Under Murder Case Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered
Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was discovered.
Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with minimal chance of survival, the jury has been told.
Her body were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations 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 Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.
Location Particulars
The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The trip was designed to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the case and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.
State Argument
It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.
The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.
Those objects were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located tied up to a post concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.
But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."
This will involve testimony that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.
The jury has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.
Defence Position
"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."
Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Further Evidence
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.
The court heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her remains were discovered.
Images showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.
