Former hospital nurse Rajwinder Singh has been found guilty of murdering Toyah Cordingley, seven years after the young woman's body was found on an isolated beach.
Cordingley, 24, was discovered by her father half-buried in an isolated section of sand dunes in far north Queensland on 22 October, 2018.
Singh, 41 was charged in March 2023 accused of fatally stabbing Cordingley at Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns.
He had pleaded not guilty to murder at the four-week trial before Justice Lincoln Crowley at Cairns' Supreme Court.
The jury reached a verdict at the retrial on Monday after about seven hours of deliberating.
It came nine months after a jury was unable to reach a verdict following days of deliberations at Singh's first trial.
Toyah Cordingley was killed after driving to the beach to walk her dog. Source: Facebook
Her family raised the alarm later that evening when she didn't return.
Her body was found about 800m from her car while her dog was unharmed and tied up to a tree.
Police claimed Cordingley had died after "a personal and intimate attack".
$1 Million reward
A record $1 million reward was offered by Queensland Police in late 2022 for information leading to the location and arrest of runaway suspect Singh.
Police believed Singh flew to India soon after Cordingley's body was found, leaving his wife and children behind at Innisfail near Cairns.
Rajwinder Singh (second from the right) has been found guilty of murdering Toyah Cordingley following a retrial. Source: Getty / -/AFP via Getty Images
Queensland Police later confirmed the $1 million reward had been paid to a number of people.
"We appreciate the significant public interest in this matter however, information provided on the process is limited as it is obtained on a confidential basis.
"As such we will not reveal specifics of the reward only to advise it has been paid in full to a number of claimants."
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