🔗 Share this article

Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the remote shore where the young woman was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has been told.

Her body were found by her father the next 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 murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Jury Inspection to Beach

The jury of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.

In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, shorts and headwear.

Scene Details

The jurors were led around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been parked.

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

Context of the Case

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

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

State 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 bikini, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.

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

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

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

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

This will include testimony that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

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

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

Defence Position

"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he opened his case.

The defence is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."

The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Additional Evidence

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

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

Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any way.

The trial will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.