Jury in High-Profile Australian Homicide Trial Visits Shoreline Where Deceased Was Found

Wangetti Beach scene
The body of Toyah Cordingley was discovered on a remote beach in Far North Queensland in 2018.

Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and buried in a sandy grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.

Her body were discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled 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.

Court Visit to Beach

The jury of 10 men and two women plus several alternates visited the location along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Location Particulars

The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several markers indicated where the victim's car had been parked.

The trip was intended to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.

Context of the Trial

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body 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 years after, the state said.

Court officials at the beach
The judge with barristers 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 discovered wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.

Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a post hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.

The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.

But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of findings 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 originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The court has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.

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

Defense Position

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.

The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer 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 other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified last week.

The trial heard he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's disappearance, prior to her body were discovered.

Images depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing 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 resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.

Alexis Anthony
Alexis Anthony

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