Panel of Jurors in Prominent Down Under Murder Trial Tours Beach At Which Deceased Was Discovered

Members of the jury involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was located.

The 24-year-old victim 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 discovered by a family member the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Court Inspection to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus three back-up jurors attended the location along with the judge and barristers on the start of the week local time.

In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and sweltering heat, the judge wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

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

Location Particulars

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

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, several red and white cones showed where the victim's car had been parked.

The visit was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the case and no official evidence was presented.

Background of the Trial

Last week, the court was informed that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and relatives.

He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.

State Argument

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

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

Those objects were taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors contend.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a stroll, was found secured to a tree hidden in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.

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

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though indirect – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will involve testimony that DNA obtained from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to have originated from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The court has previously been told evidence indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the beach after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle belonging to the defendant.

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

Defence Position

"While authorities were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged 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 opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer described his defendant as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had seen assailants assault Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."

The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Further Testimony

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.

The trial was informed 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 partner's vanishing, prior to her remains were discovered.

Photographs showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley went missing have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any way.

The case will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.