Toyah Cordingley’s murderer Rajwinder Singh faces sentencing in the Supreme Court in Cairns

16 minutes agoTue 9 Dec 2025 at 1:32am

Toyah Cordingley was murdered on a secluded beach in Far North Queensland in 2018. (Facebook: Vanessa Gardiner)

In short:

Toyah Cordingley’s murderer Rajwinder Singh is being sentenced in the Supreme Court in Cairns, after he was yesterday found guilty by a jury.

In her victim impact statement Ms Cordingley’s mother Vanessa Gardiner told Singh "you stole the precious life of our daughter from us".

What’s next?

Singh must be sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum mandatory non-parole period of 20 years.

The parents of murdered Queensland woman Toyah Cordingley have addressed their daughter’s killer in court, telling him he will never be forgiven.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, was yesterday found guilty of the 24-year-old’s murder on a Far North Queensland beach seven years ago, after a four-week trial at the Supreme Court in Cairns.

Ahead of sentencing submissions on Tuesday morning, Ms Cordingley’s mother Vanessa Gardiner read her victim impact statement supported in the courtroom witness box by her husband Darren Gardiner.

"I use the word theft in conjunction with murder because you stole something not of a material value — you stole the precious life of our daughter from us, and those who knew her," Ms Gardiner said.

"It was done in the most horrendous way, full of the most unimaginable pain and fear."

Rajwinder Singh was extradited from India to Australia in 2023. (AAP: Brian Casey)

Singh sat in the dock, his head bowed, as the statements were read.

"Every time there is a family occasion of significance, there is always the so-called elephant in the room — that being Toyah is not there anymore," Ms Gardiner told the court.

"We all know it but we don’t say it."

Father’s complex pain

Troy Cordingley, who found his only child’s body buried on Wangetti Beach the morning after her death in October 2018, detailed the pain he has experienced in the years since.

"Don’t just take a father’s word for it — ask anyone who knew or met Toyah and they will tell you what a kind, caring person she was," he said.

"I am now, and have always been, so proud and in awe of the young woman she became. She helped me become a better person.

"As a consequence of her passing, I will never have grandchildren."

Toyah Cordingley’s father Troy spoke outside court on Monday after a jury found Singh guilty. (ABC News: Conor Byrne)

Mr Cordingley said he had suffered greatly since his daughter’s murder, including from post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, flashbacks and severe panic attacks.

"I am now unable to cope in social interactions and situations," he said.

"I have attempted a few jobs but all have ended unsuccessfully due to my inability to cope.

"Even going to the shops or medical appointments, I find to be a struggle."

Troy Cordingley and his daughter Toyah. (Facebook: Troy Cordingley)

Mr Cordingley said he was "lost, heartbroken and lonely".

"Everything reminds me of her and the pain is unbearable,"

he said.

Boyfriend also a victim, court told

Ms Gardiner said Ms Cordingley’s loved ones would forever wonder what her life could have become.

"Toyah was an innocent young woman, that was full of love of everything in her life," she said.

"She never hurt anyone. Her character was one of peace, and [she had] such a positive outlook on life.

"We will never, ever, forgive you for what you have done to our Toyah and what you have taken away from our family."

Toyah Cordingley’s mother Vanessa Gardiner, pictured arriving at court on November 10, read her victim impact statement on Tuesday. (ABC News: Mark Rigby)

Ms Cordingley’s family and supporters applauded at the end of each statement.

Marco Heidenreich, Ms Cordingley’s partner at the time of her death, did not make a victim impact statement.

Marco Heidenreich gave evidence during the trial. (ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)

However, Crown Prosecutor Nathan Crane told the court Singh’s crime had an "obvious impact" on Mr Heidenreich.

"Your Honour would have noted he was accused of murder, effectively during the course of this trial, and during the last trial," Mr Crane said.

Mr Crane said Singh’s defence counsel had effectively put to a court Mr Heidenreich had sexually assaulted Ms Cordingley, influencing the "public sentiment or narrative" against him.

"There is no foundation for his involvement. The evidence is just not there," Mr Crane said.

Crown asks for longer minimum sentence

Singh must be sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum mandatory non-parole period of 20 years.

Crown Prosecutor Nathan Crane told the court Singh’s earliest possible release date should be delayed by five years due to the "moral gravity of this crime".

He said that included the public nature of the murder and the fear it could create for the community, as well as the potential Singh’s conduct was pre-meditated.

"[From] the evidence, it must be inferred there was a knife that was taken to the beach," Mr Crane told the court.

Mr Crane said it had been put to the jury that Singh had done something "that was rebuffed or thwarted by Toyah Cordingley, which led to her death".

Mr Crane said that was "unlikely to be a robbery" but "probably sexual".

He said it was likely Ms Cordingley "may have been made to tie her own dog [Indie to a tree] before being made to do something else".

"The evidence does not allow you to determine that the killer must have tied the dog," he said.

Ms Cordingley had gone to Wangetti Beach to walk her dog. (Supplied: QPS)

Mr Crane said Singh’s was "an opportunistic and violent crime upon a stranger", followed by "disrespect that was occasioned to [her body]".

"There is the prolonging of the administration of justice to the friends and family of Toyah Cordingley by flight, and a failure to cooperate at a time when he understood he was wanted for murder," he told the court.

Defence barrister Greg McGuire KC submitted that Justice Crowley should sentence Singh to the mandatory minimum non-parole period.

Ms Cordingley’s body was found on Wangetti Beach where the jury was taken during the trial. (ABC News: Conor Byrne)

Mr McGuire said Singh spent his time in India at a temple, and that he had no prior history of violence.

At the time of the murder, Singh was aged 34 and working as a nurse at Innisfail Hospital.

The court has heard he migrated to Australia in 2009 and became an Australian citizen in 2015.

"One can only speculate as to what happened on the beach," Mr McGuire said.

"On the prosecution case, it was a motiveless spontaneous killing.

"Essentially, it is one incident of criminality over a relatively short period of time."