🔗 Share this article

Jurors involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was located.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a sandy grave with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.

Her body were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the popular destinations 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.

Court Inspection to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

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

Location Particulars

The court members were guided around 1.2km along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

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

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

Background of the Trial

Previously, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.

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

Prosecution Argument

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

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

Those objects were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a post concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.

No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.

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

This will include testimony that DNA recovered from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The jury has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the state has argued.

Defence Position

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's remains, 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 Greg McGuire described his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

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

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

Further Evidence

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

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

Photographs 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 certain the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.

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