Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Case Tours Shoreline Where Victim Was Discovered

Jurors overseeing a high-profile Queensland homicide case have been taken to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the jury has been told.

The remains were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a section of coastline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Court Visit to Beach

The jury of 10 men and two women plus several alternates visited the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning local time.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, the judge opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

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

Location Details

The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Earlier, as they traveled to the site, several markers indicated where the vehicle had been parked.

The visit was designed to help the jurors become familiar with important sites in the case and no official evidence was presented.

Background of the Case

Previously, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused departed from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and parents.

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

State Case

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

The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings missing.

Those items were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a tree concealed in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.

The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.

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

This will include evidence that DNA obtained from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the population.

The court has already heard evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the accused.

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

Defence Stance

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

The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."

He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – 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.

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom police excluded as a person of interest, was one who testified previously.

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

Photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an specialist saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.

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