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National

Toyah Cordingley's murderer remains at large four years after her death in Far North QLD

The family of a young woman say they still hope her killer will be brought to justice four years after her body was found on a beach in Far North Queensland.

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

Australian authorities made a request to extradite person of interest Rajwinder Singh from India, where he is believed to be living, in March 2021.

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

Family spokesman Wayne 'Prong' Trimble said the shocking crime continued to take a toll on Ms Cordingley's family and the wider community.

But he said they remained hopeful justice would be served.

"People are flabbergasted at how long things have taken, and we really haven't had much progress at all," Mr Trimble said.

"There are so many questions, why it happened.

"It is frustrating for everyone, especially for the family and there's been a few false alarms.

"The authorities say they will not give up, and we certainly will not be giving up."

A spokeswoman for the Australian Attorney-General's Department said that it was now a matter for Indian authorities to pursue Mr Singh's extradition to Australia and that Indian police were attempting to locate him.

Campaign continues

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 in nearly every street in Cairns.

Cairns business owner Steve Parsonage said he printed 38,000 stickers over the past four years and continued to get requests for them.

"It's very sad, and we wanted to help in any way that we could," Mr Parsonage said.

"People are still coming in and asking for stickers, not as many as there once was, but it still happens."

Ms Cordingley worked at Paws and Claws animal shelter, which has received funding to open a dedicated space in a refurbished kennel in memory of her.

Thousands of stones bearing her name have been placed in locations as far away as Spain, the Sahara Desert and German castles. 

Mr Trimble said a gathering would be held at her memorial site at Wangetti Beach on Friday evening to mark the four-year anniversary of her death. 

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