Jurors involved in a high-profile Australian murder trial have traveled to the remote shore where the young woman was located.
Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and placed in a shallow resting place with minimal hope of surviving, the jury has heard.
The remains were found by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a section of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.
Jury Visit to Crime Scene
The panel of 10 men and two women plus three back-up jurors visited the beach along with the judge and barristers on Monday morning local time.
In a acknowledgment of the hot climate and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, athletic wear and trainers rather than a wig and robes.
Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose polo shirts, shorts and headwear.
Location Particulars
The jurors were guided around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.
Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four red and white cones indicated where the vehicle had been left.
The trip was intended to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the case and no testimony was presented.
Context of the Trial
Last week, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and relatives.
He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the prosecution said.
Prosecution Argument
It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a confrontation with Ms Cordingley.
The pharmacy worker was found wearing a bikini, with her attire and most of her possessions absent.
Those items were taken by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.
Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found tied up to a post hidden in bushland about 30 metres from the burial site.
The weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.
But the prosecution says the evidence – though indirect – was made up of proof that indicated Mr Singh "and eliminated others."
This will involve evidence that genetic material obtained from a object at the location was 3.8 billion times more probable to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the population.
The court has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the accused.
Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his involvement, the prosecution has argued.
Defense Stance
"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged single journey back to India," Mr Crane said previously as he opened his case.
The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his opening address, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his client as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."
He also foreshadowed evidence to come later in the trial that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen assailants attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."
The defense attorney has also said he will testify about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.
Additional Testimony
Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who testified previously.
The trial was informed he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's father about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, prior to her body were discovered.
Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the pictures were genuine and had not been altered in any manner.
The case will resume to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.
