Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Trial Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Found

Wangetti Beach scene
The remains of Toyah Cordingley were found on a remote beach in Far North Queensland in 2018.

Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow grave with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.

The remains were found by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the tourist centres 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 Visit to Crime Scene

The jury of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Details

The court members were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe 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 visit was intended to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.

Background of the Trial

Last week, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and relatives.

He was not heard from until he was arrested four years later, the prosecution said.

Court officials at the beach
The judge with legal representatives and other court officials at Wangetti Beach.

Prosecution Argument

It is claimed that the defendant, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

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

Those objects were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.

The weapon was found, and no one have been found.

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.

The jury has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.

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

Defense Position

"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.

The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

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

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, 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 father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, even before her remains were found.

Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.

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

Mary Allen PhD
Mary Allen PhD

A passionate writer and nature enthusiast sharing stories and wisdom from her journeys.