Jury in Prominent Australian Homicide Trial Tours Beach Where Victim Was Found

Wangetti Beach scene
The remains of Toyah Cordingley were found on a secluded coastline in Far North Queensland back in 2018.

Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the remote beach where the young woman was located.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the court has been told.

The remains were found by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

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

Court Inspection to Beach

The panel of 10 men and two women plus three alternates visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, the judge wore a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys chose casual shirts, shorts and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

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

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

The trip was intended to help the panel become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.

Background of the Case

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, three children 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 court officials at Wangetti Beach.

State Case

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

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

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

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

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

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

This will include testimony that genetic material recovered from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The jury has already heard testimony suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone left the scene after the killing – and that its travel matched those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.

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

Defense Position

"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a rushed single journey back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.

The defense is yet to provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."

He also hinted at evidence to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed 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 other people "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Additional Testimony

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was one who gave evidence last week.

The trial was informed he was an immediate person of interest – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her remains were found.

Photographs showing the witness on a walk 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 resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.

Kristina Myers
Kristina Myers

Award-winning journalist and digital content creator with a passion for storytelling and current affairs.