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Jurors involved in a widely publicized Australian murder trial have traveled to the remote shore where the victim was located.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object and placed in a shallow grave with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.

The remains were discovered by a family member the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline between the tourist centres of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in Far North Queensland.

Court Visit to Beach

The panel of 10 men and two women plus several back-up jurors attended the location along with the presiding officer and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a casual top, sport shorts and sneakers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the prosecuting and defence barristers chose polo shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Scene Particulars

The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile along the beach to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Upon arrival, as they traveled to the site, four red and white cones indicated where the victim's car had been left.

The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with important sites in the case and no official evidence was presented.

Context of the Trial

Previously, the court heard that the day after Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, three children and relatives.

He was not heard from until he was arrested years after, the prosecution said.

Prosecution Case

It is alleged that Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse in the community of Innisfail, near Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.

The victim was discovered wearing a bikini, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.

Those items were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution contend.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had brought along for a walk, was located secured to a tree hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the burial site.

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

But the state says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will involve evidence that genetic material recovered from a stick at the location was 3.8 billion times more likely to have come from Mr Singh than a random member of the public.

The jury has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device departed the scene after the killing – and that its travel corresponded with those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also suggested his guilt, the prosecution has claimed.

Defence Position

"While authorities were discovering Toyah's body, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he opened his case.

The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, Mr Singh's barrister Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh informed an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

Mr McGuire has also said he will give evidence about individuals "identified and unidentified" who should come under suspicion.

Additional Testimony

Ms Cordingley's partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom police excluded as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence previously.

The court heard he was an initial person of interest – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's vanishing, even before her body were discovered.

Images showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an specialist saying he was certain the photos were authentic and had not been doctored in any way.

The case will return to the more conventional setting of the courthouse on the next day.