Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Homicide Case Tours Shoreline At Which Victim Was Found

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

Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Queensland homicide case have traveled to the isolated shore where the young woman was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and buried in a sandy grave with little or no hope of surviving, the court has heard.

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

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

Jury Visit to Crime Scene

The panel of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors attended 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 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 selected polo shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Location Particulars

The court members were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been left.

The trip was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the case and no testimony was given.

Context of the Case

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and relatives.

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

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

State Argument

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 pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings missing.

Those objects were taken by the assailant to avoid detection, the prosecution contend.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree hidden in shrubland about 100 feet from the burial site.

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

But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will involve evidence that genetic material recovered from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.

The court has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.

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

Defence Position

"While authorities were discovering 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 yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an plainclothes agent he had witnessed assailants attack 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 "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a person of interest, was among those who testified previously.

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

Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.

The case will resume to the standard environment of the courthouse on the next day.

Charles Wilson
Charles Wilson

A passionate writer and researcher with a background in digital media, dedicated to sharing knowledge and sparking meaningful conversations.