Jury in High-Profile Down Under Homicide Trial Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered

Wangetti Beach scene
The body of Toyah Cordingley was discovered on a remote beach in northern Queensland back in 2018.

Jurors involved in a high-profile Queensland murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has been told.

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

Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Court Visit to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus three alternates visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, the judge wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

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 uncovered.

Earlier, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been parked.

The trip was designed to help the panel become acquainted with important sites in the case and no official evidence was given.

Background of the Trial

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

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

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

State Case

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

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

Those objects were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, prosecutors allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located secured to a post concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.

No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.

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

This will involve evidence 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 already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the accused.

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

Defence Stance

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he began arguments.

The defense is has not present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."

He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "gravest error."

Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Further Evidence

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

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

Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was confident the photos were genuine and had not been altered in any way.

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

Edwin Edwards
Edwin Edwards

A passionate writer and trend analyst with over a decade of experience in digital media and content creation.