Rajwinder Singh, convicted of murdering Toyah Cordingley in 2018, is appealing his conviction and sentence of life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 25 years. The appeal focuses on the dismissal of a jury member mid-trial due to alleged misconduct without further investigation and concerns over jurors separating during an excursion to Wangetti Beach. Singh's lawyer argues these issues could have compromised the fairness of the trial, while prosecutors defend the judge’s handling of the situation as appropriate.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-13,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In October 2018, Toyah Cordingley, a 24-year-old woman from Cairns, was brutally murdered on Wangetti Beach north of Cairns. She was stabbed and had her throat cut while walking with her dog. In December 2022, after a four-week trial in Cairns, an Innisfail nurse named Rajwinder Singh was found guilty of the murder by a jury and sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 25 years, five years above the statutory minimum.
Singh's appeal against his conviction was recently heard at the Brisbane Supreme Court. His lawyer, Saul Holt KC, argued that issues with the trial, including the discharge of one of the jurors midway through, should lead to a reconsideration of the verdict. Justice Lincoln Crowley had dismissed a juror after twelve days of the trial due to an unspecified issue.
The appeals court is now considering its verdict, and it may take several weeks for them to reach a decision.
Written for “Toyah Cordingley Murder Appeal” on 2026-10-13,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
In short:
Convicted murderer Rajwinder Singh has had an appeal against his conviction and sentence heard in court.
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Singh → convict → court
Singh's lawyer told the court the appeal was based on several issues with the trial including the dismissal of a jury member.
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appeal → tell → member
The appeals court will consider their verdict which could take several weeks.
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which → consider → weeks
The man found to have brutally murdered Cairns woman Toyah Cordingley has had his appeal against his conviction and sentence heard in court.
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appeal → find → court
Toyah Cordingley was stabbed and had her throat cut while on a walk with her dog on Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns, on October 21, 2018 when she was 24-years-old.
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she → stab → October
In December last year, a jury found Innisfail nurse Rajwinder Singh guilty of her murder after a four-week trial in Cairns.
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Singh → find → Cairns
He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 25 years, five years longer than the statutory minimum.
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He → sentence → minimum
Counsel for Singh, Saul Holt KC, told the Brisbane Supreme Court their appeal was based on several issues with the trial, including the decision by the presiding judge, Justice Lincoln Crowley, to discharge one of the jury members part-way through.
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appeal → tell → members
The court heard that 12 days into the trial, Justice Crowley received a note from a juror saying that one of their colleagues, juror 5, was "conducting his own investigation" and was biased against police.
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one → hear → police
Based on that note, Mr Holt said Justice Crowley made the decision to dismiss juror 5 but retain the rest of the jury, without conducting further investigation into what triggered the note.
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what → base → note
Mr Holt argued an investigation may have uncovered that evidence which had not been shown to the jurors may have entered the jury room, requiring all of them to be dismissed.
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which → argue → them
He said the lack of investigation also meant the allegations against juror 5 were not tested.
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allegations → say → juror
"What was in that note could not be accepted without further inquiry.
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was → accept → inquiry
Something needed to be done," Mr Holt said.
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Holt → need → ?
"It risks the perception that one juror, by writing a note, can get rid of another juror who may disagree with them."
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who → risk → them
He described the lack of investigation as a "fundamental error, a miscarriage".
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He → describe → error
Queensland's Director of Public Prosecutions, Todd Fuller KC, said the contents of the note were read to the rest of the jury and no complaints or issues were raised.
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complaints → say → jury
He said the risk of conducting an inquiry was to potentially compromise the independence of the jury, and the dismissal of additional jurors.
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risk → say → jurors
Mr Fuller argued there was "no irregularity on the part of the judge acting on the note without further inquiry".
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judge → argue → inquiry
Singh's defence team also questioned the separation of jurors during an excursion to Wangetti Beach as part of the trial.
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team → question → trial
Mr Holt told the court jurors formed small groups and broke off from one another during that trip, which he argued compromised their ability to receive the same information as each other.
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he → tell → other
It was his submission this might have impacted their understanding of the evidence given in court.
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this → impact → court
In response, Mr Fuller said while there was some physical separation between jurors during the visit to the site, "they were always in the control of the court".
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they → say → court
The length of the sentence given to Singh was also appealed, with his defence team describing it as "manifestly excessive".
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team → give → it
Singh was handed a five-year extension to his non-parole period based on the brutality of the crime, the treatment of the body afterwards, and the public setting in which it occurred.
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it → hand → which
The judge also noted Singh's lack of remorse, and his attempts to blame others.
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judge → note → others
Mr Holt told the court that taking into account the way in which the defence argued its case, including pointing to other potential suspects, should not have factored into sentencing.
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defence → tell → sentencing
The defence also argued the nature of the crime was not exceptional, and there was an "over-emphasis on community protection" in handing out an extended sentence.
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nature → argue → sentence
The three justices on the appeals court will now consider their verdict, which could take some weeks.
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which → consider → weeks
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