Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Homicide Case Tours Beach Where Victim Was Discovered

Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated shore where the victim was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has been told.

Her body were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline nestled between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Jury Inspection to Crime Scene

The jury of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors visited the beach along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected polo shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

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

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones showed where the vehicle had been left.

The trip was designed to help the panel become familiar with important sites in the case and no testimony was presented.

Context of the Trial

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his spouse, family and relatives.

He was out of contact until he was apprehended years after, the prosecution said.

State Argument

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

The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.

Those objects were removed by the assailant to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was found secured to a post concealed in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.

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

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

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

The court has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the killing – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.

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

Defense Stance

"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he opened his case.

The defence is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."

He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."

Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified previously.

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

Photographs depicting the witness on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.

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