Jury in High-Profile Australian Murder Trial Visits Shoreline At Which Victim Was Found

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

Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Queensland murder trial have traveled to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.

The remains were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Jury Inspection to Crime Scene

The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week in Queensland.

In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

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

Scene Particulars

The court members were led around 1.2km along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been parked.

The trip was designed to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.

Context of the Case

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.

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

Court officials at the beach
Justice Lincoln Crowley with barristers and other personnel at Wangetti Beach.

Prosecution Case

It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.

The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.

Those objects were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.

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

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

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The court has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the defendant.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his guilt, the prosecution has argued.

Defence Position

"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed 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 initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."

The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.

The trial heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were discovered.

Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.

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

Joshua Phillips
Joshua Phillips

Elara is a seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in online betting strategies and industry trends.