Jury in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Visits Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered

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

Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was located.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.

Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 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 alternates visited the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a casual top, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

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

Location Particulars

The jurors were led around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

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

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

Context of the Trial

Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and relatives.

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

Court officials at the beach
Justice Lincoln Crowley with legal representatives and other court officials at Wangetti Beach.

Prosecution Case

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

The victim was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions missing.

Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution allege.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located tied up to a tree hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.

The weapon was ever recovered, and no one have been identified.

But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will include testimony that genetic material obtained from a object at the scene was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – 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 state has argued.

Defence Stance

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.

The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

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

The defense attorney has also said he will testify about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who testified last week.

The court was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her remains were found.

Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any way.

The case will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.

Nicole Fletcher
Nicole Fletcher

A passionate gamer and writer sharing insights on game mechanics and community trends.