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Jurors overseeing a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the remote beach where the victim was located.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly attacked with a sharp object and buried in a shallow grave with little or no chance of survival, the court has heard.

The remains were found by her father the following 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 northern Australia.

Court Inspection to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors visited the beach along with the presiding officer and barristers on Monday morning local time.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the prosecuting and defence barristers selected casual shirts, bottoms and baseball caps.

Location Particulars

The jurors were guided around 1.2km north up the sand to observe where Ms Cordingley's remains were uncovered.

Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers indicated where the vehicle had been parked.

The trip was intended to help the jurors become acquainted with key locations in the trial and no testimony was given.

Context of the Trial

Previously, the court was informed that the following day Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered, Mr Singh flew from Australia to India – abandoning his wife, family and relatives.

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

Prosecution Case

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

The pharmacy worker was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and belongings missing.

Those items were taken by the killer to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was found tied up to a tree concealed in bushland about 100 feet from the burial site.

No murder weapon was found, and no eyewitnesses have been found.

But the prosecution says the evidence – though circumstantial – was made up of proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will include 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 unrelated individual of the population.

The jury has already heard evidence suggesting that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo belonging to the defendant.

Mr Singh's quick exit from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the state has claimed.

Defense Position

"As the police were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.

The defence is yet to provided testimony, but in his opening address, Mr Singh's barrister the lawyer portrayed his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "wrong place at the unfortunate moment."

He also foreshadowed evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an plainclothes agent he had seen two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

The defense attorney has also said he will give evidence about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Further Evidence

Ms Cordingley's boyfriend at the time, the witness, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a person of interest, was among those who gave evidence last week.

The trial was informed he was an initial police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was involved in his partner's disappearance, even before her body were found.

Photographs depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a companion on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the court, with an expert saying he was confident the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any way.

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