Panel of Jurors in Prominent Australian Murder Case Tours Beach At Which Victim Was Discovered

Wangetti Beach scene
The remains of Toyah Cordingley were found on a remote beach in northern Queensland back in 2018.

Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Queensland murder trial have traveled to the isolated beach where the victim was discovered.

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

Her body were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline 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.

Court Inspection to Beach

The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions 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 chose polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Location Details

The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were discovered.

Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four markers indicated where the victim's car had been left.

The trip was intended to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the case and no official evidence was presented.

Background of the Trial

Previously, the court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.

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

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

Prosecution Case

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

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

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

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

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

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

This will involve evidence that genetic material recovered from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The court has previously been told testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.

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

Defense Stance

"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.

The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

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

Additional Testimony

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

The trial heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, prior to her remains were found.

Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been altered in any way.

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

Douglas Parker
Douglas Parker

Lena is a seasoned automation engineer with over a decade of experience in designing and implementing control systems for various industries.