Toyah Cordingley’s killer, Rajwinder Singh, has been sentenced to life in prison for what a judge described as an “opportunistic” and “brutal” attack on the 24-year-old at Wangetti Beach in 2018.
The former nurse, 41, was handed a non-parole period of 25 years in the Supreme Court in Cairns — five years longer than the mandatory minimum — one day after a jury found him guilty following a four-week retrial.
It is reported by ABC News that Singh stood motionless, head bowed, as Justice Lincoln Crowley delivered the sentence.
As per ABC News, Justice Crowley said Singh’s motive remained “unknown”, but told the court the evidence pointed to a “shocking and sickening act of violence”, likely triggered when Cordingley confronted him over behaviour of a sexual nature.
Cordingley, an animal shelter volunteer, had gone to the beach to walk her dog Indie. Her father Troy found her body buried in a shallow grave the next morning. Indie was discovered tied to a tree nearby.
Justice Crowley said Singh’s attempts to conceal the crime — including burying Cordingley and fleeing to India the next day — worsened the moral gravity of his actions.
“Your conduct provides some insight into the selfish and heartless individual you truly are,” he said, adding that Singh had shown no remorse and continued to shift blame, including towards Cordingley’s boyfriend, Marco Heidenreich.
Singh spent four years in hiding before his arrest at a New Delhi gurdwara in 2022, shortly after Queensland police announced a $1 million reward. He was extradited to Australia in early 2023.
ABC News reports that Cordingley’s mother, Vanessa Gardiner, supported by her husband Darren, told the court her daughter’s “precious life” had been stolen in the most “horrendous” way.
“You stole something not of material value — you stole the precious life of our daughter,” she said.
“We will never, ever forgive you.”
Her father Troy — who discovered his only child’s body — described years of trauma, including PTSD, insomnia, flashbacks and crippling anxiety.
“Ask anyone who knew Toyah and they will tell you what a kind, caring person she was,” he said.
“As a consequence of her passing, I will never have grandchildren … Everything reminds me of her and the pain is unbearable.”
Family members and supporters applauded at the end of each statement, while Singh sat in the dock with his head down.
Justice Crowley addressed the family directly in his sentencing remarks:
“You had your head down, Mr Singh, but I hope you listened to the depth of their pain. You have left a void in their lives that can never be filled.”
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