'Never forgiven': ex-nurse convicted of fatal stabbing

Seven years after Toyah Cordingley's body was discovered on an isolated beach, former nurse Rajwinder Singh has been found guilty of her murder. Singh, 41, repeatedly stabbed Ms Cordingley and slashed her throat at a far-north Queensland beach in 2018 before fleeing to India, spending years in hiding. Ms Cordingley, 24, was discovered by her father half-buried in sand dunes at Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns, a day after she failed to return from walking her dog. The beloved dog - named Indie - was found alive nearby tied tightly to a tree. Years passed as Ms Cordingley's grieving family waited for answers. After a record $1 million reward and two trials, it finally came when a jury delivered a unanimous verdict at Cairns' Supreme Court late on Monday. "This event turned our world upside down for years, and we all know a special part of our fun, tight-knit family is now gone forever," Ms Cordingley's mother Vanessa Gardiner told reporters outside court. "We are different people now because of this tragedy. "Some days it is still hard to believe she is no longer here physically with us and the horrendous way she was taken from us." Ms Gardiner said her family would "never forget" Ms Cordingley - or forgive Singh. "We will always wonder what could have been if her life was not cut so short," she said. "As far as the person who committed this murder and inflicted a horrible death on our daughter, you will never be forgiven by us." The four week re-trial concluded after about seven hours of deliberating. Singh's first trial ended in a hung jury eight months ago. Ms Cordingley had taken her dog to Wangetti Beach on October 21, 2018. Her family raised the alarm when she didn't return before her father made the grisly discovery the next morning about 80m from her car. Police claimed Ms Cordingley had died after "a personal and intimate attack". Online tributes poured in for the "gentle, humble and loving" Ms Cordingley, an organic food store worker who also volunteered at an animal shelter. About 350 people packed a small chapel in the Cairns suburb of Manunda for her funeral. Soon after the body was found, Singh, a nurse from Innisfail about an hour's drive south of Cairns, departed Australia. He boarded a flight to India, the country of his birth, leaving behind his wife and three children. In March 2021 the federal government approved an extradition warrant for Singh that was issued by police over their suspicion he'd fatally stabbed Ms Cordingley. By November 3, 2022 the Queensland government announced the largest reward in the state's history for Singh's location and arrest - a $1 million payout. Weeks after the reward was announced, Singh was arrested in New Delhi. He was extradited to Australia and charged with murder in March 2023. Singh had earlier waived his right to challenge the extradition order, telling AAP in New Delhi: "I want to go back. It is the (Indian) judicial system that has been holding things up." "I did not kill the woman," he said, adding he wanted to "reveal all the details" to an Australian court. Queensland Police later confirmed the $1 million reward had been paid to a number of people. The world was a poorer place without Toyah, her father Troy Cordingley said. "Today's verdict has delivered a form of justice, but for us, it can never be true justice," he said. "Toyah will always be alive in our hearts" The court was adjourned to Tuesday morning for sentencing submissions.