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National

$1m reward offered in hunt for prime suspect in murder of Toyah Cordingley

The parents of Queensland woman Toyah Cordingley say they are hopeful a $1 million reward will flush out the man police believe murdered their daughter four years ago.

Ms Cordingley, 24, was walking her dog along Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns, when she was killed in October 2018.

The reward on offer for information leading to the location and arrest of prime suspect Rajwinder Singh, 38, is the largest in Queensland's history.

"She would be looking down thinking, 'I can't believe they're doing this for me'," Ms Cordingley's mother, Vanessa Gardiner, said.

"She deserves every bit of it, and I just hope I get that call very soon to say that they found him.

"If [Mr Singh] sees it, I wish he would come forward and turn himself in."

Toyah's father, Troy Cordingley, said the person responsible was "right now living free with no consequences for their terrible crime and could even be committing more atrocious acts".

"At the very minimum, this person must be removed from society and held accountable for their crime," he said.

Reward offered worldwide

Detective Inspector Sonia Smith has spearheaded the four-year investigation into Ms Cordingley's murder, which she said devastated the people of Cairns.

"We are giving somebody a million reasons to come forward and give us information that will lead to the location and arrest of Rajwinder Singh," Detective Inspector Smith said in an interview with the ABC.

"We only need one person to come forward and tell us where he is.

"We will take information from anywhere across the world."

Detective Inspector Smith said Mr Singh, a nurse who was living at Innisfail at the time of the alleged murder, flew from Cairns to Sydney on October 22, the day after Ms Cordingley died.

The next day, he flew to India, where she said his arrival was confirmed.

Australian authorities made a request to extradite Mr Singh from India in March 2021.

Indian police join search

The ABC understands the next Indian extradition court proceedings have been listed for November 5, although the matter will be postponed if he is not located.

Five Queensland police officers who can speak Hindi and Punjabi have come together to receive information via the WhatsApp messaging platform.

Three Queensland police detectives have also travelled to India to work with authorities from both countries on the ground as part of the investigation.

"We know that people know this person, they know where this person is, and we're asking those people to do the right thing," Police Minister Mark Ryan, who approved the reward for information, said.

Mr Ryan said authorities would also consider offering an indemnity from prosecution to an "accomplice" if they were the first person to give information leading to Mr Singh's arrest.

Murder still haunts locals

Four years after her death, Ms Cordingley's name still hangs in shop windows, on posters strung up on trees, and on stickers on car bumpers.

Her mother said Toyah was a "beautiful spiritual person", who was about to start her first full-time job when she was killed.

"I see her friends and stuff married with kids and stuff now [and] think of everything she's missed out on in her life," Ms Gardiner said.

Thousands of stones bearing her name have been placed in locations across the world to remember the gentle spirit who loved animals and sunflowers.

Ms Cordingley volunteered at the Paws and Claws animal shelter at Port Douglas, which opened a dedicated space in a refurbished kennel in her memory.

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