A jury in trials of a former nurse accused of murdering a woman on a remote Australian beach was released, after having been able to make a verdict.
Toyah Cordingley was stabbed at least 26 times when he walked his dog in October 2018.
The 24 -year -old’s body was discovered by his father, half buried in sand dunes on Wangetti beach between the popular tourist hotspots of Cairns and Port Douglas.
Rajwinder Singh, 40, who went to India the day after the retreat of Ms. Cordingley’s body, was accused of murder. He was arrested and extradited in Australia in 2023.
But the jurors of the Supreme Cairns said that they had been blocked and unable to make a unanimous decision on his guilt after two and a half days of deliberations. Under the Queensland law, the jury’s verdicts in cases of murder must be unanimous.
This means that Mr. Singh is likely to face another trial.
Originally from Buttar Kalan in the Indian State of Punjab, Mr. Singh lived in Innisfail at the time of the murder, a city about two hours south of the crime scene.
Prosecutors said they had no reason for the murder of Ms. Cordingley – a health worker and a volunteer for animal shelters – and there was no proof of sexual assault.
The trial at the Supreme Court of Cairns learned that a DNA sample taken from the right nails of the victim corresponded to Mr. Singh’s profile, and that DNA is very likely to be his has also been discovered on a stick on the grave.
Data from the mobile phone towers also suggested that MS Cordingley’s phone had moved to a model similar to the Blue Alfa Romeo car from Mr. Singh on the day of the victim’s disappearance.
The accusation also suggested the rushed path that Mr. Singh left Australia without saying goodbye to his family or colleagues underlined his guilt.
Mr. Singh had denied the murder – and said to an infiltration police officer that he had seen the murder, then left the country, leaving behind his wife and children because he feared for his own life.
His defense lawyer said he was “loose” but not a killer, and accused the police of an “erroneous” investigation which did not look enough at other possible suspects.
They said that DNA found on the scene, on the victim’s nails, and his thrown stick was did not correspond to Mr. Singh’s profile.
“There is a DNA of an unknown person on this serious site,” said Angus Edwards, defense lawyer, at the jury.
