🔗 Share this article

Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Australian murder trial have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow grave with little or no hope of surviving, the court has been told.

The remains were found by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Court Visit to Crime Scene

The jury of 12 individuals plus three alternates attended the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Location Details

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

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

The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the trial and no official evidence was presented.

Context of the Trial

Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and relatives.

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

State Case

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

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

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

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.

The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.

But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will include testimony that DNA obtained from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.

The jury has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has argued.

Defence Position

"As the police were discovering Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.

The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."

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

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

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was one who gave evidence previously.

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

Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.

The trial will return to the standard environment of the courthouse on Tuesday.