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

Wangetti Beach scene
The remains of Toyah Cordingley was discovered on a secluded beach in northern Queensland in 2018.

Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated beach where the young woman was located.

The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has heard.

The remains were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Jury Inspection to Crime Scene

The jury of 12 individuals plus several alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning 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 traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Details

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

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four markers showed where the victim's car had been left.

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

Background of the Case

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, three children and parents.

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

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

Prosecution Argument

It is claimed that Mr Singh, who was employed in healthcare in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.

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

Those objects were taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.

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

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will involve testimony that genetic material recovered from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.

The jury has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach 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 suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.

Defense Position

"As the police 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 opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.

Further Testimony

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

The trial was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's vanishing, prior to her body were found.

Images showing the witness on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.

The case will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.

Joseph Walker
Joseph Walker

A tech enthusiast and cultural commentator with over a decade of experience writing about digital innovations and societal impacts.