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Jurors visit remote beach in Toyah Cordingley murder trial
Jurors in the high-profile murder trial of Rajwinder Singh visited Wangetti Beach in Far North Queensland on Monday, where 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley was found fatally stabbed in October 2018. Singh, 41, denies murdering Cordingley, whose body was discovered by her father the day after the attack.
Courtroom moves to crime scene
The jury-comprising 10 men, two women, and three backups-walked approximately 1.2 km along the beach to the location where Cordingley's body was found buried in a shallow grave. Four red-and-white cones marked the spot where her car had been parked. The visit, intended to familiarize jurors with key locations, did not include formal evidence presentation.
Given the tropical heat exceeding 30°C, Justice Lincoln Crowley and barristers dressed casually in shirts, shorts, and caps, departing from traditional courtroom attire.
Prosecution outlines circumstantial case
Prosecutors allege Singh, a nurse in nearby Innisfail, confronted Cordingley-a blonde pharmacy worker described as "young and attractive"-before stabbing her repeatedly. Her body was found wearing only a bikini, with her other belongings missing, allegedly taken by the killer to evade detection. Her dog, Indie, was found tied to a tree 30 meters from the grave.
No murder weapon or eyewitnesses have been identified. However, prosecutors claim DNA evidence from a stick at the scene was 3.8 billion times more likely to match Singh than a random individual. Phone records also suggest Cordingley's device moved with Singh's blue Alfa Romeo after the killing.
"As police were finding Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one-way trip back to India," prosecutor Nathan Crane stated last week.
Defense hints at alternative suspects
Singh's defense team, led by barrister Greg McGuire, portrayed him as a "placid" and "caring" man who was "in the wrong place at the wrong time." McGuire foreshadowed testimony that Singh later told undercover officers he witnessed two masked men attack Cordingley but fled in fear-calling it his "biggest mistake."
The defense also plans to introduce evidence about other potential suspects, "both known and unknown." Cordingley's then-boyfriend, Marco Heidenreich-initially questioned by police-was cleared after providing alibis, including verified photos of a hike taken the day she disappeared.
Trial resumes in courtroom
The proceedings will return to Cairns Supreme Court on Tuesday, shifting from the beach to the conventional trial setting. Singh, who left Australia for India the day after Cordingley's body was found, was arrested four years later. The prosecution argues his abrupt departure indicates guilt.
