- Tuesday, March 04, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Rajwinder Singh, accused of murdering Toyah Cordingley, a woman in Queensland more than four years ago, on Friday (3) faced a local court.
He has been charged with the killing of Cordingley, 24, at Wangetti beach in the north of Cairns in October 2018.
The 38-year-old Singh, a former nurse, appeared in a white T-shirt in Cairns magistrate court on Friday morning via a video link, Australian Associated Press reported.
He remained silent throughout the hearing barring the time when magistrate Cathy McLennan asked whether he was Rajwinder Singh.
“Yes, madam,” he said.
Police prosecutors told the court that they would produce a brief of evidence by April 14 with a committal mention set down for April 28, the report added.
Singh was remanded in custody.
Security was beefed up at the court and an overflow room was opened for people to watch the proceedings.
Defence lawyer Derek Perkins was mobbed by journalists outside the court after the hearing which was brief but he refused to reply to questions.
He only said that Singh was innocent until proven guilty.
Singh, who fled to India after the incident, was arrested in Delhi last November. He was extradited to Australia this week after he agreed to be extradited Down Under to face the murder charge.
Cordingley’s mother Vanessa Gardiner thanked police and the community in a statement.
“We thank the community for their ongoing love and support throughout these difficult times,” she said in a statement released Thursday.
