Trouble in paradise: The predatory murders that have rocked Port Douglas and surrounds
A dispute over a missing camera and a hunting knife turned deadly in this sleepy Far North town in a shocking crime that still haunts residents.
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WHILE the glitzy seaside town of Port Douglas and its magical surroundings aren’t normally associated with predatory crime and bloodshed, the stunning destination has borne witness to some of the worst.
Many unspeakable acts of violence have put places like Port Douglas, Mossman, Julatten, Daintree and Cooktown up in lights on a national scale over the years and have shaken these easygoing towns to their core.
Mossman CIB Detective Trevor Perham arrived in the Douglas Shire from Brisbane in 2001 “expecting a homicide a year”.
Thankfully the experienced cop has only had to endure a fraction of that number, yet the grisly details of the shocking and calculated killings have left a permanent stain.
“It’s not murder central here and it's not a dangerous place to visit, but it’s not immune to homicide,” he said.
“Because they are not a daily occurrence, when they do occur people stop and think about it.
“And whenever murder happens close to home it has a lasting effect because people can relate to it.”
He used slain 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley as an example of how a horrifying and predatory attack could change the way residents live their lives.
Ms Cordingley was found dead on Wangetti Beach in 2018.
“We have only had two or three murders in my time across the last 20 odd years, so they are few and far between but they do occur,” he said.
“You only have to look at Toyah and the effect her death has had on the greater region, it was phenomenal.
“That happened on our doorstep.”
Here’s a look at some of the more shocking killings that have gripped Port Douglas.
BOW AND ARROW MURDER
A dispute over a missing GoPro and a hunting knife turned deadly in the quiet Far North town of Mossman almost four years ago.
It took a jury earlier this year just four hours to find Joshua James Richards, 30, guilty of the murder of 38-year-old roof labourer Dennis Beattie from Cooya Beach.
The court heard Richards shot Mr Beattie in the chest with an archer arrow in October, 2018 and disposed of his body near the back of a Mossman cane farm.
The trial heard, it followed an argument over the missing items, with Richards claiming the deceased had pinched them.
Richards pleaded not guilty to murder, admitting to only interference with a corpse and arson.
Justice Jim Henry told the court “the cover up, the lies, the mistreatment of the body and so forth were all at odds with someone who would kill accidentally.”
“You were angry with him, you were obsessed, and in that split second moment when he made the decision to lunge at you, the reaction was ‘stuff you’,” he said.
He was sentenced to life in prison.
ROSSVILLE HORROR
It was a shocking murder suicide that crippled the hearts and minds of a tight knit township just 60km north of Cape Tribulation.
Shockwaves were sent up and down the Daintree coast when the bodies of Troy Harvey, 45, and son Koah, 4, were found at a River Rd property at Rossville on a September morning in 2020.
Police alleged the troubled father had killed his son following an assault on the boy’s mother earlier that day.
Two crime scenes were established at the property and another residence, with investigations involving multiple detectives, scenes of crime and scientific officers.
Detective Inspector Jason Smith said at the time the event had proved particularly disturbing and traumatic for local residents.
“People in Rossville have been devastated by these tragic events,” he said.
Mr Harvey took to social media several weeks prior to the callous murder, saying he had suffered a “nervous mental breakdown” brought on by long term alcohol and drug use.
Koah’s heartbroken mum, Natsuko Kurihara, posted an emotional tribute following her son’s death, asking him to forgive her.
Her son had been taken from her by Harvey the night before.
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you,” she wrote.
The horrific tragedy will long haunt the small town of around 200 people.
HANGING OF ELLEN THOMSON
Ellen Thomson is the only woman legally hanged in Queensland after being found guilty of the murder of her husband, William “Billy” Thomson in 1886.
She has been described as a scarlet woman turned violent murderess after an affair with a much younger man, but did she get a fair trial?
The question was the focus of an award-winning novel Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? and her story has been recounted for years in Port Douglas through re-enactments by the Douglas Historical Society.
Mr Thomson’s gravestone at the Port Douglas cemetery reads he “met his death by cruel and treacherous murder” on October 22, 1886.
He was 66 years old.
Mr and Mrs Thomson married in 1880, two years after the latter arrived in Port Douglas to commence work as his housekeeper at a farm on the Mossman River.
Things turned sour six years later when Ms Thomson’s friendship with John Harrison “a young marine deserter” caused a major conflict that would lead to homicide.
At a trial in Townsville, Justice Pope Cooper found Ms Thomson and Mr Harrison “guilty of the crime of murder”, claiming he had “no doubt whatever” it was the latter who killed “old man Thomson.”
“I confidently believe that Thomson’s wife was present at the time aiding and abetting you.”
He sentenced her to death and to “be led to the place of execution, and that you be hanged by the neck until your body be dead.”
Mr Harrison confessed that he alone shot and killed Mr Thomson on the eve of his hanging.
WANGETTI BEACH SLAYING
Few crimes have rocked the Douglas Shire like the brutal alleged murder of Toyah Cordingley.
Innocence was taken on Wangetti Beach on October 21, 2018 when, after taking her dog for a walk, the 24-year-old was allegedly slain in a vicious and random attack.
Her remains were found by her father the following day.
A nationwide manhunt ensued with her killer yet to be brought to justice.
An extradition request has been sought and issued to India for a person of interest – Innisfail resident Rajwinder Singh.
The Cairns Post is not suggesting he is guilty of the alleged murder — only that he is a person of interest in the unsolved case.
Mr Singh flew to India shortly after the body was found.
A permanent memorial of Ms Cordingley has been erected at the beautiful Far North beach near where she took her last steps.
BABY-FACED KILLER
A baby-faced former footballer turned cold-blooded killer made headlines around the world when he was found guilty of murdering Cooktown mum Donna Steele.
The much loved 42-year-old was reported missing from her home on the outskirts of the Far North town.
Her body was found floating, face down, in an inlet off the Endeavour River.
Police would scour the crocodile infested estuary to piece together who was responsible for her death.
It was that brilliant police work that cracked the case.
A DNA sample, taken from a piece of red twine found near Ms Steele’s body, would return an exact match for Matthew Ross White, 26, who would eventually confess to killing her.
Chillingly, he told police he drove to Cooktown and hid under Ms Steele’s bed wearing a stocking over his head. He strangled her with the red twine and a silk scarf in a twisted attempt to extort money.
He then wrapped her body in a doona and drove her to Leggett’s Crossing, weighing her down with rocks before fleeing.
He pleaded guilty to murder and is serving a life sentence.
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