Man detains in India for beach murder in Australia

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25th Nov, 2022. 08:15 pm
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An Indian man has been detained in connection with the murder of a 24-year-old Australian woman.
Toyah Cordingley was found dead on a beach in Wangetti Beach four years ago.
Queensland government offered A$1 million (£563,000; $676,487) prize for information.

An Indian man has been detained in connection with the murder of a young woman who was discovered dead on a beach in tropical northern Australia four years ago.

Toyah Cordingley, 24, was attacked in what has been described as a “frenzied and vicious and sadistic” manner, and her death was found in October 2018.

The Queensland government offered a A$1 million (£563,000; $676,487) prize for information earlier this month.

Rajwinder Singh, the man accused of killing Toyah, was eventually detained as a result.

He was detained by Indian authorities in Delhi on Friday, according to Queensland police, and a court hearing about his extradition is scheduled to take place soon.

He will subsequently be transported to Australia to stand trial.

“It was never a question of if, but when this day would come,” Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll said. “I am very confident we have a strong case to put before the courts.”

When Mr. Singh, a nurse, left Australia hours after Toyah’s death was found, he took his three children, wife, and job with him. He was seen on camera at Sydney’s main airport.

Few specifics about Toyah’s death have been provided by the detectives. On October 21, 2018, she left to walk her dog at Wangetti Beach, which is located halfway between the well-known tourist destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas. She never returned. The following day, her father found her dead partially buried in sand dunes.

In an international search to find Mr. Singh, Australian officials have requested the public’s assistance.

He was living in Innisfail, roughly two hours away from the crime scene, at the time of the murder. He was originally from Buttar Kalan in the Indian state of Punjab.

According to Commissioner Carroll, Mr. Singh has been evading arrest in Punjab ever since he fled.

Australia’s request for an extradition order in March 2021 was granted by Indian authorities last month. But up until this point, they had been unable to find the 38-year-old.

Five Queensland police officers who speak Hindi and Punjabi have reportedly been getting intelligence via WhatsApp, according to Australian media. This is according to a detective from Queensland police who recently returned from India.

When the A$1m reward was announced earlier this month, Toyah’s father, Troy Cordingley said his daughter was ” a young woman who will never get the chance to live a full life and all that entails… this was taken away from her”.

“While justice will not bring Toyah back, justice is the very least that she deserves.”

It is Queensland’s highest reward ever given. If it turned out that the tip that resulted in the arrest qualified for the reward, Commissioner Carroll stated she would “glad write out the cheque myself.”

She praised cooperation with the Indian police, which she said had been “exceptional”.

Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan said the arrest had been “a long time coming”.

“This is very early days in the next stage of delivering justice for Toyah,” he said. “I know people are excited about this development and I know people are relieved.”

Man detains in India for beach murder in Australia

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