Accused murderer's trial hears pathologist detail victim's 'horrendously serious' injuries
Rajwinder Singh's murder trial has heard disturbing evidence about Toyah Cordingley's injuries on the same day the jury learned the accused fled to India within hours of the killing.
The forensic pathologist who conducted a post mortem on Toyah Cordingley has catalogued an alphabet of injuries, stabbings and defensive wounds, with the jury shown photographs of her body from the examination.
Marked from A through to W, forensic pathologist Dr Paul Botterill spoke to the jury about the width and depths of cuts, and the organs damaged.
Rajwinder Singh, 41 a nurse from Innisfail, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Toyah Cordingley at Wangetti Beach on October 21, 2018 and the trial has now entered its third week.
Dr Botteril was asked about the type of weapon that might have caused the injuries.
He said “a knife of any size could have been used”, and agreed the injuries could have been caused by a singular knife, or by more than one knife.
Most of the stabbing injuries were between 14mm and 24mm wide, and the deepest stab wound he was able to measure penetrated 85mm, he said.
“Nothing suggests it had to be a large knife,” he told the court, saying it was unlikely the murder weapon was a razor, but possible that it was a handled weapon with a serrated blade.
Dr Botterill said the most significant injury to Mr Cordingley’s body was the wound to her neck, which was described by defence barrister Gregory McGuire KC as “very unusual and obviously horrendously serious.”
Dr Botterill agreed, saying there would likely have been significant and high-pressure blood loss from the cutting of the carotid arteries.
“Is it fair to say it is the type of injury (one) would would see if you are ‘bleeding an animal’?” questioned Mr McGuire, to which Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane objected, saying it was not within Dr Botterill’s area of expertise.
Presiding Justice Lincoln Crowley agreed and the question was not answered.
Jury hears Rajwinder Singh’s flight timeline
The jury were shown the travel timeline of Mr Singh, beginning with a one-way flight to India booked on October 22, 2018.
Mr Singh flew to India the next morning at 10.45am.
Jurors also heard Mr Singh’s voice in a recording of the phone call he made to book the ticket to New Delhi, where he told the agent his grandfather was sick and he needed to travel “as soon as possible”.
Family of the accused takes the stand
Mr Singh’s younger sister, Palwinder Kaur told the jury she had been unaware he was travelling to New South Wales until he phoned her from Sydney airport.
She described their relationship as “very good”, adding, “it was caring and respectful … but we couldn’t open up with each other.”
The accused’s father, Amar Singh, was also called, confirming his son drove him to the temple on October 21.
He said the next time he saw Rajwinder Singh was “when we went to the jail to meet him.”
Amar Singh told the court he travelled to India to try to find his son but was unsuccessful.
‘He wasn’t coming back’: Nurse and manager detail Mr Singh’s work life
Two former colleagues of the accused murderer have spoken about his workplace relationships and behaviour in the weeks before he left Australia.
Kylie Osmundsen, a nurse at Innisfail Hospital in 2018, told the court she believed he was being bullied by another staff member, and described Mr Singh as a “competent and respected” nurse.
Lesley Harris held a management role at Innisfail Hospital in 2018, and told the court she received a “disjointed” voicemail from Mr Singh in October 2018 saying “he was not returning to the hospital and had a few things going on in his life,” she said.
Originally published as Accused murderer's trial hears pathologist detail victim's 'horrendously serious' injuries
