A hung jury has terminated the process of a former hospital nurse of murder after a young woman was deadly stabbed on an isolated beach.
The jury was fired on Tuesday after it was unable to reach a judgment after days of deliberations, more than six years after the body of Toyah Cordingery was discovered.
Mrs. Cordingley, a 24-year-old employee in organic food shop, was buried on 22 October 2018 in Zand on a beach outside Cairns, far to the north of Queensland.
Rajwinder Singh, 40, from nearby Innisfail, was not guilty of murder.
The jury started on Friday with seeing graphic autopsy photos during the 13-day process in the Supreme Court in Cairns and hearing of hundreds of witnesses.
Justice James Henry previously told jury members that the prosecution would present a case on the basis of indirect evidence because there was no direct witness to the alleged crime.
Mrs. Cordingley took her dog for a walk on Wangetti Beach, a long and isolated piece of sand on October 21, 2018 about 40 minutes' drive north of Cairns.
Her friend Marco Heidenreich called Triple Zero to report her missing after he found her vehicle in the parking lot and could not reach her by telephone.
The jury in the murder of 24-year-old Toyah Cordingery was fired on Tuesday
Rajwinder Singh, 40, had previously not been guilty for murder
Mrs. Cordingley's father, Troy, found the body while investigating a hill on the beach.
Her dog endie was found unharmed and tied to a nearby tree.
Public Prosecutor Nathan Crane told the jury that no one witnessed Mrs. Cordingley who was killed or saw the murderer get away.
The proof of DNA and mobile phones was presented by the Public Prosecution Service, who said that the Jury Singh was leaving his family, canceled his job and flew to India the day after Mrs. Cordingley's body was found.
He was only seen again until November 2022 when he was found and extradited to Australia, the jury was told.
Singh was an Indian national who lived in Australia since 2009.
Main defense lawyer Angus Edwards told jury members that they could not condemn Singh unless they could reject all other reasonable suspects for the murder.
“This whole process comes down to one issue: could it be just Rajwinder Singh or is he just one of the different options,” he said.
Mrs. Cordingley, a 24-year-old employee in organic food shop, was buried on October 22, 2018 in Zand on a beach outside Cairns, far to the north of Queensland, far North Queensland
DNA and Mobile Telephone certificate was presented by the Public Prosecution Service, who said that the Jury Singh was leaving his family, canceled his job and flew to India the day after Mrs. Cordingley's body was found
Public Prosecutor Nathan Crane told the jury that no one witnessed
He told the jury that the police went to the utmost to investigate Singh's clothing, movements, employees and cars.
“My question to you is that they have done the same with the other suspects?” Said Edwards.
The defense claimed that researchers 'protected' Mr Heidenreich because his stepfather was a former police officer of Cairns.
Mr Heidenreich testified that he was not involved in the death of Mrs. Cordingery.
After more than two days of deliberation, the jury published a note in which he said it had turned out and could not reach a judgment.
It was fired by Justice Henry, who postponed the case until next week to set a date for a new process.
Mrs. Cordingley's family reportedly did not comment outside the court.
