Prosecutors call last witnesses in trial of Rajwinder Singh, accused of murdering Toyah Cordingley

Toyah Cordingley's dog Indie was her "pride and joy" and she would not have tied it so tightly to a tree it could not sit down, a jury in the Cairns woman's murder trial has heard.

Ms Cordingley, 24, was found buried in sand at the secluded Wangetti Beach in Far North Queensland, the morning after she went there to walk her Husky-Tibetan mastiff cross.

Former Innisfail nurse Rajwinder Singh, 41, is standing trial at the Supreme Court in Cairns, having pleaded not guilty to her murder.

Prosecutors allege Mr Singh killed Ms Cordingley at the beach on the afternoon of October 21, 2018, before booking a one-way ticket to New Delhi the following morning.

The Crown finished calling witnesses on Monday afternoon after more than three weeks of evidence.

Mr Singh has elected not to call, or give evidence, in his defence.

Among the final witnesses to be called by prosecutors was Ms Cordingley's close friend Megan Pritchard, who told the court Indie would accompany Ms Cordingley when they went to swimming holes together.

"As much as she could, Toyah would let [Indie] run off lead because she had voice control over her?" Mr Singh's barrister, Greg McGuire KC, asked.

"Correct," Ms Pritchard replied.

Indie was found inland from where Ms Cordingley was buried, tied so tightly to a tree in the scrub that Ms Cordingley's mother Vanessa Gardiner needed help untying the lead.

"You would say Toyah would never have done that?" Mr McGuire asked.

"Correct," Ms Pritchard replied.

Prosecutors did not ask any questions of Ms Pritchard during her brief time in the witness box.

DNA testing

Earlier on Monday, the court heard specialist forensic testing found a sample of DNA on Ms Cordingley's fingernail matched genetic markers on Mr Singh's Y-chromosome.

Queensland forensic scientists sent some samples to a New Zealand laboratory for further analysis, including "mini-STR" tests that enable scientists to examine DNA samples that have "degraded" or "started to break down".

Jayshree Patel, a scientist from the New Zealand Institute of Public Health and Forensic Science, gave evidence about tests she ran that focused on Y-chromosome markers to identify male DNA.

"If we had a DNA extract that has lots of female DNA present and a smaller quality of male DNA ... if we undertook our standard DNA test, we're unlikely sometimes to see the male contribution in the extract," Ms Patel said.

A fingernail from Ms Cordingley's right hand was among the samples sent to New Zealand for further testing.

Ms Patel said she twice ran a DNA extract test on a profile from the fingernail.

On one test, 26 of the 27 genetic markers on the fingernail sample matched those of Mr Singh's Y-chromosome, while on a second test, all 27 markers matched.

"If you assume they're from one individual, one male, they all correspond to Mr Singh's DNA profile," Ms Patel said.

"It could not have originated from [Ms Cordingley's boyfriend Marco] Heidenreich."

Other Y-chromosome testing was also done, some of which was able to yield partial profiles with fewer markers present, and those also matched Mr Singh, Ms Patel said.

Under cross-examination from defence barrister Kate Juhasz, Ms Patel said she could not say where on the fingernail the DNA sample was from.

Ms Patel said there were not "any signals on the [fingernail] DNA profile to alert me there was likely to be a mixture of men in the sample".

"If you assume those results originated from one male, then they couldn't have originated from Mr Heidenreich," she said.

Police questioned

Mr Singh's barrister Mr McGuire concluded the final day of evidence cross-examining the detective who led much of the investigation into Ms Cordingley's death.

Mr McGuire asked Detective Sergeant Gary Hall about whether police followed up on a series of cars and people that witnesses had described seeing around Wangetti Beach on the day of the alleged murder.

He also asked about the extent to which police investigated Joshua James Richards, who was arrested on October 24, 2018 — and eventually convicted — for murdering a friend the week before over a property dispute.

The court has previously heard a detective made a note about Richards and his girlfriend having been "banned from [the] Paws and Claws [animal shelter] where Toyah worked because of ongoing issues with treatment of animals".

Sergeant Hall said the officer who investigated the murder Richards committed was able to account for all of Richards's movements "throughout that period".

The court heard Richards's DNA would also have been placed on a national database following the crime.

Sergeant Hall was also asked why an injury a detective observed on the hand of tradesman Evan McCrea was not disclosed to Mr Singh's defence team until last year.

Sergeant Hall said it was because police did not suspect Mr McCrea of any involvement in Ms Cordingley's death.

"In fact, the evidence suggests he was nowhere near Wangetti Beach, so he was back of mind," he said.

Crown Prosecutor Nathan Crane and Mr McGuire are still to make closing addresses to the jury, which are expected to begin on Tuesday.

Justice Lincoln Crowley will then sum up the case ahead of deliberations.