Defence lawyers for the man accused of murdering Cairns woman Toyah Cordingley, six years ago, says he is a ‘coward’, but not a killer. The trial for Rajwinder Singh had wrapped up, with the jury being asked to find that he was the victim of a flawed investigation.
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00:00As the murder trial draws to a close, Rawinda Singh's defence team insists he didn't kill
00:08Toy accordingly.
00:10The 24-year-old's body was found partially buried at Wangeti Beach, north of Cairns,
00:15more than six years ago.
00:16Her throat was slashed, her body concealed in a shallow grave beneath a sand dune.
00:22The former nurse has been on trial with prosecutors alleging he fled the country, abandoning his
00:27family after killing her in an impulsive and violent attack.
00:32It's their case that evidence links him to the crime, including his DNA allegedly found
00:38under her nails.
00:39In closing to the jury, the defence said Mr Singh witnessed someone else kill her.
00:45Can you imagine the trauma of seeing a young woman killed?
00:48He handled it badly.
00:50That doesn't make him a killer, it just makes him a coward.
00:54Some people don't trust the police.
00:56You might say Mr Singh should have stayed and helped, but it's not a crime not to help.
01:02His lawyers labelled the police investigation as flawed, telling the jury the family of
01:06Miss Cordingley's boyfriend had connections to detectives working on the case.
01:11Questions were also raised about why hairs found in Miss Cordingley's hands were never
01:16tested.
01:17In his closing address, Crown Prosecutor Nathan Crane told the jury Mr Singh would have to
01:22be the most misfortunate man in Cairns not to have committed the murder.
01:28Jury deliberations are expected to begin tomorrow.