More small clues revealed in Toyah Cordingley murder case
Cairns court
Further details have emerged about the circumstances surrounding the murder of former Paws and Claws volunteer Toyah Cordingley during the first two days of the latest trial of accused killer Rajwinder Singh.
During the retrial of former nurse Mr Singh, which began Monday after a jury could not come to a unanimous decision after the first trial ended in March, Ms Cordingley’s partner of three years Marco Heidenreich, mother Vanessa Gardiner, father Troy Cordingley and sister Leynah Gardiner all took the Cairns Supreme Court stand.
The jury - which now comprises 10 women and 2 men - was shown video of Ms Cordingley at Rusty’s Market in Cairns between midday and 1pm on the day she was killed - Sunday, October 21, 2018 - wearing shorts and a singlet that have never found, according to Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane.
Footage was also shown of her driving her blue Mitsubishi Lancer from Cairns to her Woree home, heading north from about 1:30pm, then passing through Ellis Beach at about 2pm.
Ms Cordingley’s final message sent at 3.17pm that afternoon to Mr Heidenreich was read out: “I forgot that I’m picking up my friend from the airport tonight. I think it’s around seven or eight,” followed by a red heart emoji.
The court heard Mr Heidenreich, however, did not see that message until later that night, despite him trying to ring her 17 times throughout the day.
Mr Crane told the court Mr Heidenreich found her car parked at Wangetti Beach while returning home from the Port Douglas region at about 9.30pm Sunday night, looked inside the unlocked vehicle, called out for her on the beach, and called Triple-0.
Toyah’s mother Vanessa Gardiner and father Troy Cordingley were contacted and went to the beach to search for their daughter at 2-3am on Monday, October 22, 2018, with Mr Heidenreich joining them at about 7am that morning.
The father and boyfriend then found a “hat Toyah was wearing” buried in the sand near the edge of the water, Mr Crane told the court, before Mr Cordingley found her body.
The court also heard the couple had met in Port Douglas while volunteering at Paws and Claws animal shelter, had been together about three years, and had lived together at Woree in Cairns for about six months.
On the morning of the murder, the couple had been “pottering around the house” and gardening, Mr Heidenreich told the court.
Leynah Gardiner told the court she found out her sister was missing at about 1am on Monday, October 22, and spoke with Mr Heidenreich about half an hour later, who told her he had driven past Toyah’s car that evening.
The court also heard Mr Singh was recorded telling an undercover policeman he saw two men kill Ms Cordingley at Wangetti Beach that Sunday, and that was why he fled the country.
Defence lawyer Gregory McGuire read out some of a recorded conversation he allegedly had with the undercover officer.
The excerpts included: "It happened in front of me, I ran for my life", "they were going to kill me as well", and the killers "had their faces covered".
The trial continues today.
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