A father has recalled the harrowing moment when he found his daughter’s body buried on a beach in Australia.
On Wednesday, February 26, Troy Cordingley testified at the Supreme Court in Cairns, detailing the tragic discovery of his 24-year-old daughter, Toyah Cordingley, whose body was found at Wangetti Beach in Far North Queensland on October 22, 2018, per AAP.
She had gone missing the previous day while walking her dog.
Troy Cordingley recounted his desperate search for Toyah and the chilling moment he uncovered her body in the sand.
“I dropped down to my knees and I scooped the sand three times, and on the third scoop, there was a foot,” he told the jury.
“I reeled back. I was horrified. I yelled out ‘Help me, help me’. I was shocked, stunned,” he added.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Paul Botterill testified that Toyah suffered an “extraordinarily deep” 17-centimeter neck wound, along with injuries to her abdomen, chest, and fingers.
Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane suggested Toyah may have been buried alive, telling the court she was “buried shortly before or after her death.”
“She was left with her injuries with no hope of survival,” he stated.
Crane also argued that Toyah “was alive” when she sustained the severe neck wound.
The prosecution presented phone tracking data indicating Toyah’s phone left – or was removed from – the beach at 5:00PM on the day she disappeared.
It was allegedly taken along a route that matched sightings of a blue Alfa Romeo sedan on CCTV, leading to Lake Placid Holiday Apartments.
This then led them to a suspect, per the Australian Broadcasting Company.
“Rajwinder Singh owned a blue Alpha Romeo, a similar vehicle,” Crane told the jury.
Additionally, forensic evidence revealed that male DNA found under Toyah’s fingernails was “2000 times more likely” to belong to Singh than a random individual, according to expert analysis, per PEOPLE.
Singh left Australia for New Delhi the day after Toyah’s body was discovered and remained in India until he was located and extradited in November 2022.
Rajwinder Singh, 40, has pleaded not guilty to her murder.
Toyah’s boyfriend, Marco Heidenreich, was the first to report her missing.
He testified that she had messaged him at 3:17PM on the day she was killed, stating she planned to pick up a friend from the airport that evening.
However, when he passed by the beach later, her car was still parked there.
Heidenreich denied any involvement in her death, despite acknowledging that his stepfather – a former Cairns police officer – was acquainted with a detective working on the case.
Defense barrister Angus Edwards questioned whether Heidenreich had received special treatment from police.
“Did you think there was anything unusual about your treatment by the police?” he asked. Heidenreich replied: “No.”
Edwards argued that any number of people could have committed the crime, stating: “As you go through trial, ask yourself if Mr. Singh being the killer is the only possibility.”
The trial is expected to last another four weeks as the court examines the evidence surrounding Toyah’s tragic death.
