Panel of Jurors in High-Profile Australian Murder Trial Tours Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered

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

Members of the jury involved in a high-profile Queensland homicide case have traveled to the remote beach where the victim was located.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a sharp object and placed in a sandy resting place with minimal chance of survival, the jury has heard.

The remains were found 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 killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Court Inspection to Beach

The jury of 10 men and two women plus three alternates attended the location along with the presiding officer and barristers 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, sport shorts and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Scene Details

The jurors were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

Earlier, as they arrived by bus, several markers showed where the victim's car had been left.

The trip was designed to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.

Context of the Trial

Last week, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind 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
The judge with legal representatives and other court officials at Wangetti Beach.

State Argument

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

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

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

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found tied up to a post concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the grave.

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

But the state says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of findings that indicated Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

This will involve testimony that genetic material obtained from a stick at the location was extremely more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The jury has previously been told evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the scene after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle owned by the accused.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has claimed.

Defence Stance

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.

The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.

The court heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his girlfriend's disappearance, even before her body were found.

Images showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley went missing have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.

The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.

Matthew White
Matthew White

A tech enthusiast and business strategist with over a decade of experience in digital transformation and startup consulting.