Jurors Visit Beach Where Queensland Murder Victim Found

Published: 17 November 2025 Monday. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

Jurors in a high-profile Australian murder trial have been taken to the remote Queensland beach where the body of Toyah Cordingley, a 24-year-old pharmacy worker, was discovered. The visit is part of ongoing efforts to familiarise the jury with key locations in the case as proceedings continue in the Cairns Supreme Court.

Ms Cordingley’s death has captivated national attention since her body was found in a shallow grave on Wangetti Beach, a stretch of coastline located between the tourist hubs of Cairns and Port Douglas. The jury was told that she had been “repeatedly” stabbed with a sharp object and placed in the grave with “little or no hope of surviving,” marking one of the most harrowing crimes in Far North Queensland in recent years.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, denies murdering Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018. The accused, who was working as a nurse in Innisfail, south of Cairns, remains the central focus of the prosecution’s circumstantial case, which has been presented as a series of compelling pieces of evidence pointing to his involvement.

On Monday morning local time, the jury—comprising ten men and two women, along with three alternate jurors—visited the beach accompanied by Justice Lincoln Crowley, prosecution and defence barristers, and court officials. In recognition of the tropical conditions, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius, the judge and legal teams opted for casual attire: Justice Crowley wore a T-shirt, shorts, and trainers instead of the traditional wig and robes, while barristers dressed in polo shirts, shorts, and baseball caps.

The jurors walked approximately 1.2 kilometers north along the sand to the precise location where Ms Cordingley’s body was discovered. Earlier, as the group arrived by bus, red and white cones marked the location where the victim’s car had been parked on the day of her death. The beach visit was strictly intended to provide the jury with a clearer sense of the environment; no new evidence was presented during the outing.

Court proceedings last week revealed details of Mr Singh’s movements in the aftermath of the killing. The prosecution told the court that the day after Ms Cordingley’s body was discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India, leaving behind his wife, three children, and parents. He was not heard from again until his arrest four years later.

Prosecutor Nathan Crane described Ms Cordingley as “a young woman, blonde and attractive” and alleged that a confrontation with Mr Singh led to her death. It was further claimed that the victim was found wearing only a bikini, with other clothing and personal belongings taken by the perpetrator to avoid detection. Her dog, Indie, who had accompanied her to the beach, was discovered tied to a tree approximately 30 metres from the grave in a concealed area of shrubland.

The murder weapon has never been recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified. Nevertheless, the prosecution asserts that the cumulative evidence strongly implicates Mr Singh while excluding other potential suspects. Key pieces of evidence include DNA recovered from a stick at the scene, which experts testified was 3.8 billion times more likely to belong to Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

Additionally, phone data presented to the court suggested that Ms Cordingley’s device left the beach following the killing, with movements matching those of a blue Alfa Romeo registered to Mr Singh. The prosecution also highlighted the suspicious timing of Mr Singh’s departure from Australia, arguing that his abrupt flight suggested consciousness of guilt. “As the police were finding Toyah’s body, he was organising a hurriedly-arranged one-way trip back to India,” Mr Crane told the jury during his opening statement last week.

The defence, yet to present its case, has sought to frame Mr Singh as a “placid” and “caring” individual who happened to be in the “wrong place at the wrong time.” Barrister Greg McGuire indicated that Mr Singh has provided an account to an undercover officer, claiming that he witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and fled in fear—a statement described by Mr McGuire as the defendant’s “biggest mistake.” The defence also intends to present evidence regarding other possible suspects, both known and unknown, to challenge the prosecution’s circumstantial case.

Testimony last week included statements from Ms Cordingley’s boyfriend at the time, Marco Heidenreich, who was initially questioned as a potential suspect. Police quickly ruled him out, but the court examined photographs showing Mr Heidenreich on a hike with a friend on the day of Ms Cordingley’s disappearance. Forensic experts confirmed the authenticity of the images, testifying that they had not been digitally altered.

The case has drawn national attention not only for the tragic circumstances of Ms Cordingley’s death but also for the complexities of presenting a circumstantial case that relies heavily on digital evidence, DNA analysis, and timing of the accused’s actions. Legal experts have noted that jury site visits, such as Monday’s trip to Wangetti Beach, are relatively rare but can provide jurors with a tangible sense of the crime scene and the spatial relationships relevant to the investigation.

Observers have highlighted the unusual courtroom conditions as a reflection of the region’s tropical climate. The decision for the judge and legal teams to adopt casual attire, while departing from tradition, was widely reported as a practical measure to maintain comfort and focus during proceedings in extreme temperatures.

The investigation into Ms Cordingley’s death remains one of Far North Queensland’s most significant criminal cases in recent memory. Despite the passage of years since the October 2018 killing, authorities have maintained a steady course, gathering DNA evidence, examining mobile phone data, and reconstructing events surrounding the victim’s disappearance.

Prosecutors have emphasised that, although circumstantial, the evidence is “compelling” and excludes alternative explanations for Ms Cordingley’s murder. The case is poised to test the jury’s ability to weigh complex forensic and digital evidence while considering competing narratives presented by the defence.

As the trial continues, the jury is expected to return to the Cairns Supreme Court for more conventional courtroom proceedings. The remainder of the trial will involve presentation of defence evidence, cross-examination of prosecution witnesses, and expert testimony, all aimed at establishing the facts of the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

For the local community and the wider Australian public, the trial represents a long-awaited pursuit of justice for Toyah Cordingley. The combination of detailed forensic analysis, digital tracking, and witness accounts provides a multidimensional view of the investigation and underlines the challenges of prosecuting a murder case based on circumstantial evidence.

Monday’s site visit to Wangetti Beach not only allowed jurors to visualise the scene but also underscored the methodical approach taken by investigators to reconstruct the circumstances of Ms Cordingley’s tragic death. By walking the path from where her car was found to the location of her shallow grave, jurors were able to contextualise distances, visibility, and other physical factors that may be relevant in assessing the credibility of witness testimony and the sequence of events.

The trial, ongoing in Cairns, remains a focal point for Australian legal observers and is expected to continue for several weeks. Its outcome will have significant implications for understanding the application of circumstantial evidence in homicide cases and the procedures surrounding high-profile criminal trials in Queensland.