Jurors overseeing a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the isolated shore where the victim was located.
The 24-year-old victim was repeatedly attacked with a bladed weapon and placed in a sandy resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
The remains were discovered 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, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Court Visit to Crime Scene
The jury of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on Monday morning in Queensland.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.
Both the lead prosecution and defense attorneys selected casual shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Details
The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.
The visit was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the trial and no official evidence was presented.
Context of the Case
Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.
He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Case
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 pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and belongings absent.
Those objects were removed by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.
Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.
The weapon was found, and no one have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was comprised proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that DNA obtained from a object 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 suggesting that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the scene after the killing – and that its movements corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has argued.
Defence Position
"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.
The defense is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his client as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the unfortunate moment."
He also foreshadowed testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under investigation.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who testified last week.
The court heard he was an initial police suspect – and that he had faced questions from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, prior to her remains were found.
Images depicting the witness on a walk with a companion on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the court, with an expert 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.
