In a murder case that occurred on a remote beach in Australia, the jury was discharged after failing to reach a verdict on whether former nurse Rajwinder Singh murdered a woman. The case involves the death of Toyah Cordingley, who was stabbed at least 26 times while walking her dog in October 2018.
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03-20, 2025The body of 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley was discovered by her father, partially buried in the dunes of Wangetti Beach, between Cairns and Port Douglas. Rajwinder Singh, 40, traveled to India the day after the incident and was later charged with murder. He was arrested in 2023 and extradited back to Australia.
Jurors at the Cairns Supreme Court stated that they were deadlocked after two and a half days of deliberation and could not reach a unanimous verdict on Singh's guilt. The judge thanked the jury for their "diligence." Under Queensland law, a jury verdict in a murder case must be unanimous, so Singh will face a retrial.
Singh, originally from Buttar Kalan in Punjab, India, was residing in Innisfail at the time of the incident, a town located approximately two hours south of the crime scene. The prosecution stated that they had not found a motive for Singh to murder Cordingley, who was a health food store employee and animal shelter volunteer, nor was there evidence of sexual assault.
During the trial, the Cairns Supreme Court heard evidence indicating that DNA highly likely belonging to Singh was discovered on a stick in the victim's grave. Data from mobile phone base stations also suggested that on the day the victim disappeared, the movement patterns of Cordingley's mobile phone were similar to the movement patterns of Singh's blue Alfa Romeo car. The prosecution also argued that Singh's hasty departure from Australia, without saying goodbye to his family or colleagues, indicated his guilt.
Singh denies the murder and told an undercover police officer that he witnessed the murder and then left the country, leaving his wife and children behind, because he feared for his life. His defense lawyers said that he was a "coward" but not a murderer, and accused the police investigation of being "flawed" and failing to adequately investigate other possible suspects. They said that DNA found at the scene, including DNA on the victim's discarded selfie stick, did not match Singh's DNA. "There is an unidentified person's DNA in that gravesite," defense lawyer Angus Edwards told the jury.
