Justice Finally Reaches Wangetti Beach
So let me walk you through this deeply emotional and long-awaited moment in the Toyah Cordingley case — a case that has weighed heavily on Far North Queensland for seven long years. A jury has now found Rajwinder Singh, a former nurse, guilty of Toyah’s 2018 murder at Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns. It’s a verdict that arrived after years of grief, frustration, and relentless pursuit of answers.
Toyah Cordingley was just 24, full of life, known in her community as a gentle, loving young woman who volunteered at an animal shelter. On the afternoon of October 21, 2018, she drove to the beach with her dog Indie for a simple Sunday walk. When she didn’t come home, her family knew something was wrong. The next morning, after hours of searching, her father Troy made the heartbreaking discovery — Toyah’s body half-buried in the dunes. Indie was found alive but tightly tied to a tree nearby.
From the beginning, the brutality of the crime shocked Queensland. Toyah had been stabbed repeatedly, her throat cut, and police described the attack as deeply personal and violent. The community rallied with marches, vigils, and even bumper stickers calling for justice.
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But the man eventually identified as the prime suspect had already vanished. Singh fled to India the very next morning after Toyah’s death, booking a last-minute flight and telling a travel agent he needed to visit a sick grandfather. He left behind his wife, three children, and his entire life in Innisfail — a disappearance prosecutors later argued was a clear sign of guilt.
For four years he remained in hiding, until a $1 million reward and a renewed international push finally led to his arrest at a Sikh temple in New Delhi in 2022. He was extradited to Australia in early 2023, and what followed were two trials — the first ending in a hung jury, the second stretched over four intense weeks with more than 80 witnesses.
This week, after about seven hours of deliberation, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict. The reaction inside the courtroom was raw and overwhelming. Toyah’s father could be heard saying, “rot in hell, you bastard,” while Singh sat motionless.
Outside court, Toyah’s mother, Vanessa Gardiner, spoke with a heartbreaking mix of relief and sorrow. She said this was “a long awaited day” but not one they could truly celebrate — because no verdict could bring Toyah back. She remembered her daughter as a “loveable, innocent, full-of-life young woman,” and made it clear her family would never forgive Singh for the years of pain he caused.
Police described the case as one of the most complex investigations in Far North Queensland’s history, with detectives sacrificing personal time and refusing to give up until Singh was found.
Now, with the guilty verdict delivered, the case moves to sentencing. But for Toyah’s family and the wider community, this moment marks something deeper — an end to uncertainty, and a recognition of the young woman whose life was stolen far too soon.
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