Suspected beach murderer extradited to Australia to face court
The man accused of killing Queensland woman Toyah Cordingley on a tropical beach was being extradited from India overnight to face court in Australia.
Rajwinder Singh, 38, boarded a Qantas flight from New Delhi bound for Melbourne on Tuesday night, the ABC reports.
He was escorted by seven police officers from India’s Tihar Prison in New Delhi — the largest in South Asia.
The Australian citizen of Indian origin was handed over from Indian authorities to Queensland police at the gate of the flight, said the ABC.
It’s a huge step forward in the case, four years after Ms Cordingley’s father found her body on a beach north of Cairns, half-buried in the sand.
Police said the suspect Mr Singh, a nurse who had been living in Innisfail at the time, flew to India the day after her body was found and had remained there for four years.
Suspect Rajwinder Singh was seen at Sydney airport leaving Australia in 2018. Photo: Qld Police Service
He was arrested in New Dehli in November last year after the Queensland government offered a $1 million reward for information — the largest in the state’s history.
The BBC reports Mr Singh will first have to appear in court in Victoria before being moved to Queensland.
He could face a magistrate in Brisbane later this week.
Toyah Cordingley was known for her work in rehoming animals.
Last week, Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said police were thankful Mr Singh would soon be facing court in Queensland.
“But behind that, there’s always that tragic loss of a young life,” Ms Carroll said.
Ms Carroll has previously said the investigation to find Mr Singh was one of the most intense and comprehensive in many years.
Ms Cordingley’s death had shocked and outraged people in Queensland, she said.
“She was a beautiful, much-loved person, just innocently going about her day.”
In December 2018, Toyah’s father Troy Cordingley told of the horror of finding his daughter’s body.
“Toyah is my only child. Finding her body has burnt an indelible image in my mind. It is something a father should never have to suffer,” he said.
-with AAP
