22 hours agoThu 8 Jan 2026 at 7:04am

Toyah Cordingley's body was found at Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns, in Far North Queensland in October 2018. (Facebook: Toyah Cordingley)

The man convicted of killing Queensland woman Toyah Cordingley has lodged an appeal against his conviction and sentence.

In December, a Supreme Court jury convicted former Innisfail nurse Rajwinder Singh of murdering the 24-year-old at Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns.

During a four-week trial, the court heard Singh, 41, stabbed Ms Cordingley repeatedly and cut her throat at the secluded beach, where she had gone to walk her dog on October 21, 2018.

The court heard Singh abruptly left Cairns the next day.

He also left behind his job at Innisfail Hospital and flew to his native India where he spent more than four years in hiding.

Singh was arrested in late 2022, three weeks after a record $1 million reward was posted for information leading to his arrest.

Rajwinder Singh has been sentenced to life in prison. (AAP: Brian Casey)

In early 2023, he agreed to be extradited to Australia to face trial.

His first trial earlier last year ended in a hung jury.

Singh denied murdering Ms Cordingley, claiming instead to have witnessed masked killers on the beach before fleeing the country in fear they would kill him too.

Behind bars in high security

Singh was sentenced to a mandatory term of life behind bars last month.

He has since been placed at Wolston Correctional Centre, a high-security prison on the outskirts of Brisbane where male protection prisoners are held.

Justice Lincoln Crowley ordered Singh not be eligible for parole for 25 years, after he was asked by prosecutors for a longer term than the mandatory 20-year minimum.

With time already served, the earliest Singh can apply for release on parole is March 2048, when he will be aged 63.

In sentencing, Justice Crowley branded Singh a "gutless coward".

"You left without even saying a proper goodbye to your wife, your parents, your children, demonstrating that your only concern was to save your own skin, regardless of the consequences for your family," he said.

"Your conduct offers some insight into the selfish and heartless individual you truly are."

Singh had a month to file his appeal.