Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Murder Case Visits Shoreline Where Victim Was Found

Wangetti Beach scene
The body of Toyah Cordingley were found on a secluded beach in northern Queensland in 2018.

Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the remote shore where the victim was located.

The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.

Her body were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Jury Inspection to Crime Scene

The jury of 12 individuals plus several alternates visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Location Particulars

The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

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

The visit was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the case and no official evidence was given.

Context of the Case

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and relatives.

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

Court officials at the beach
The judge with legal representatives and other court officials at Wangetti Beach.

Prosecution Argument

It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.

Those items were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.

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

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

But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

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

The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the beach after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.

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

Defense Stance

"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.

The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

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

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.

The court was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her body were discovered.

Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.

The case will resume to the more conventional setting of the courtroom on the next day.

Stacy Duran
Stacy Duran

Elara is a seasoned writer and editor with over a decade of experience, known for her engaging essays on modern literature and creative expression.