Jury in Prominent Australian Homicide Case Tours Shoreline Where Deceased Was Discovered

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

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

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy grave with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has been told.

Her body were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Court Inspection to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.

In a nod to the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

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

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

The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no testimony was given.

Background of the Trial

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, three children and parents.

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

Court officials at the beach
Justice Lincoln Crowley with legal representatives and other personnel at Wangetti Beach.

Prosecution Case

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

The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings absent.

Those items were removed by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located secured to a post hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.

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

But the state says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will include testimony that DNA obtained from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The court has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.

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

Defense Stance

"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.

The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in terror – 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 investigation.

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.

The trial was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, prior to her body were found.

Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any way.

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

Debra Welch
Debra Welch

Award-winning travel photographer with a passion for capturing diverse cultures and landscapes through her lens.