Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Case Visits Beach Where Victim Was Discovered

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

Jurors overseeing a high-profile Australian homicide case have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal chance of survival, the jury has heard.

Her body were found by her father 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 murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Jury Inspection to Beach

The jury of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

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

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the vehicle had been parked.

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

Background of the Trial

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and parents.

He was not heard from until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.

Court officials at the beach
The judge with barristers and other personnel at Wangetti Beach.

Prosecution Argument

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

The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.

Those items were removed by the killer to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.

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

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

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include evidence that DNA recovered from a object at the location was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the accused.

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

Defence Stance

"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed 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 portrayed his client as a "calm" 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 plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."

Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who testified last week.

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 involved in his girlfriend's vanishing, even before her remains were discovered.

Images depicting the witness on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.

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

Sarah Bell
Sarah Bell

A tech enthusiast and lifestyle blogger passionate about sharing innovative ideas and personal experiences to inspire others.