The trial of Rajwinder Singh, charged with the murder of 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley, has heard from the detective who tracked down a car similar to one owned by Singh. Singh has pleaded not guilty to the Far North Queensland woman's murder.
Detective Sergeant Matt Mattock told the Supreme Court in Cairns on Wednesday that police initially identified 219 cars that could have possibly matched three 'phone events' on Ms Cordingley's device. Police used 'timing advance' data, which gives a distance from a mobile phone to local cell towers, to narrow the search.
Detective Sergeant Mattock outlined the complexity of the investigation, saying his team identified 32 video cameras in the area of interest. They focused on a choke point at Clifton Beach, where two cameras could see every car driving south on the Captain Cook Highway. After five timed runs, the number of cars of interest was reduced from 219 to 70.
A media campaign brought forward drivers of many of these cars, and police investigated the rest. Car number 164 was a blue Alfa Romeo 156, one of only three in the region, similar to that owned by Rajwinder Singh.
Expert witness Daniel Qamar from Optus confirmed there was a gap in Mr Singh's phone records between 1:16pm and 8:15pm on the day Ms Cordingley died, suggesting the phone may have been switched off. The court also heard from eight people who were at Wangetti Beach on October 21, 2018, with varying descriptions of people coming and going.
