Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Case Tours Shoreline Where Deceased Was Found

Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have traveled to the isolated beach where the young woman was located.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no chance of survival, the court has been told.

Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Jury Visit to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys chose polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four markers showed where the victim's car had been parked.

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

Background of the Case

Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.

He was out of contact until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.

Prosecution Argument

It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

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

Those items were removed by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.

Her pet, 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 circumstantial – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will include testimony that DNA obtained from a object at the scene was extremely more likely 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 departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.

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

Defense Position

"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.

The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away 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 investigation.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.

The court heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were found.

Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.

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