Justice for Toyah: The hunt for a young woman's killer | The Brief

On October 21, 2018, the vibrant life of 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley was brutally cut short in a crime that shook the paradise of Far North Queensland to its core. Toyah, a young woman known for her kindness and love for animals, went for a Sunday afternoon walk with her dog, Indy, on the isolated sands of Wangetti Beach, just north of Cairns. She never came home.

This documentary episode of The Brief unravels the harrowing timeline of that day and the relentless, four-year international manhunt that followed. We explore the initial frantic search by Toyah’s family, the heartbreaking discovery of her body by her own father, and the shocking realisation that the prime suspect—nurse Rajwinder Singh—had fled the country just hours after the murder, leaving behind his wife and three children.

For years, Singh remained a ghost, hiding out in the vast population of India while Toyah’s family lived in an agonising limbo. The investigation seemed to hit a wall until Queensland Police made a historic move: offering a record-breaking $1 million reward for information leading to his capture. It was a gamble that paid off. Within weeks, a tip-off led authorities to Singh’s hideout in New Delhi, ending his four years on the run.

We take you inside the courtroom for the high-stakes trial where prosecutors pieced together a "mosaic of guilt" using DNA evidence, phone tracking data, and Singh’s own suspicious movements. You will hear the chilling audio recordings from a police sting operation where Singh admits to witnessing the crime but denies committing it—a defense the jury ultimately rejected.

This is not just a story about a murder; it is a story of a community that refused to give up. From the "Justice for Toyah" campaign that plastered her face across Australia to the dogged determination of detectives who chased a killer across continents, witness the journey to the final guilty verdict. While a life sentence has been handed down, hear from Toyah’s mother, Vanessa, and father, Troy, on why true justice is impossible when they are forced to live in a world without their daughter.

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CHAPTERS | KEY MOMENTS IN THIS VIDEO
00:00 - A Life Cut Short: Remembering Toyah
02:04 - The Disappearance: Walking on Wangetti Beach
03:14 - A Father’s Nightmare: The Discovery
05:37 - The Investigation: Zeroing in on a Suspect
08:05 - The Flight: Rajwinder Singh Escapes to India
10:05 - The Manhunt: Tracking a Ghost in Punjab
12:02 - The Million Dollar Reward: A Historic Gamble
12:48 - Captured: The Arrest in New Delhi
14:00 - The Trial: DNA, Dashcam, and Denial
16:39 - The Verdict: Guilty of Murder
17:28 - No True Justice: A Family’s Enduring Grief

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