Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Case Tours Beach At Which Victim Was Discovered

Wangetti Beach scene
The remains of Toyah Cordingley were found on a remote coastline in northern Queensland in 2018.

Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have been taken to the remote beach 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 heard.

Her body were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Jury Inspection to Crime Scene

The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

The court members were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four markers indicated where the vehicle had been parked.

The trip was intended to help the panel become acquainted with key locations in the case and no official evidence was given.

Context of the Case

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and parents.

He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the state said.

Court officials at the beach
The judge with barristers and other personnel at Wangetti Beach.

Prosecution 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 pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.

Those objects were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors contend.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.

No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.

But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The court 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 vehicle belonging to the defendant.

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

Defence Stance

"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.

The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."

He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."

Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Additional Testimony

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 heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were found.

Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.

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

Nicole Scott
Nicole Scott

Elara is a seasoned travel writer with a passion for uncovering tranquil destinations and promoting mindful travel experiences worldwide.