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Members of the jury overseeing a high-profile Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the victim was located.

Toyah Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy resting place with little or no hope of surviving, the court has been told.

The remains were discovered by her father the next day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of shoreline between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a weekend in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Court Visit to Crime Scene

The panel of 12 individuals plus several alternates visited the location along with the judge and legal counsel on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the tropical conditions and temperatures above 30C, Justice Lincoln Crowley wore a T-shirt, athletic wear and sneakers rather than traditional court attire.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers chose casual shirts, shorts and headwear.

Scene Details

The court members were led around three-quarters of a mile north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's body were uncovered.

Upon arrival, as they arrived by bus, several red and white cones showed 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 given.

Background of the Trial

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused flew from Australia to India – leaving behind his wife, family and parents.

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

Prosecution Argument

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

The victim was found wearing a swimwear, with her attire and most of her possessions missing.

Those objects were taken by the killer to avoid detection, prosecutors allege.

Her pet, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a stroll, was found secured to a tree concealed in shrubland about 100 feet from the grave.

The weapon was found, and no one have been found.

But the prosecution says the crown's case – though circumstantial – was made up of findings that pointed to Mr Singh "excluding other suspects."

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

The jury has previously been told testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's phone departed the beach after the incident – and that its travel corresponded with those of a blue Alfa Romeo owned by the accused.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also suggested his guilt, the state has argued.

Defence Position

"As the police were discovering Toyah's body, he was arranging... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said previously as he began arguments.

The defense is yet to present any evidence, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire described his client as a "calm" and "compassionate" man, who was in the "incorrect location at the wrong time."

He also hinted at evidence to come subsequently that, after his arrest, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men attack Ms Cordingley and then had run away in fear – something he said was his "gravest error."

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 partner, Marco Heidenreich, whom authorities quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was among those who gave evidence last week.

The trial 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, prior to her remains were discovered.

Images showing the witness on a hike with a friend on the date Ms Cordingley disappeared have been presented to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the pictures were authentic and had not been altered in any manner.

The trial will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on Tuesday.