🔗 Share this article

Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Queensland murder trial have traveled to the remote shore where the victim was discovered.

The 24-year-old victim was multiple times stabbed with a sharp object and buried in a shallow resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has been told.

Her body were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline 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 Far North Queensland.

Court Inspection to Beach

The jury of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors visited the location along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week in Queensland.

In a acknowledgment of the tropical conditions and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

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

Location Details

The court members were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, four markers indicated where the vehicle had been parked.

The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was given.

Background of the Case

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were found, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.

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

State Argument

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

The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and belongings absent.

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

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was located secured to a tree hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the grave.

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

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

This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a object at the scene was extremely more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.

The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the accused.

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

Defense Stance

"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said last week as he began arguments.

The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also hinted at testimony to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had seen two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in terror – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under investigation.

Additional Evidence

Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence previously.

The trial heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, even before her remains were discovered.

Photographs depicting the witness on a hike with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was confident the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any manner.

The trial will resume to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.