Vandalism of Toyah’s Wangetti memorial enrages community

A community still grieving the loss of murdered pharmacy worker Toyah Cordingley have been enraged by the vandalism of memorial erected in her honour.

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A COMMUNITY still grieving the loss of murdered pharmacy worker Toyah Cordingley have been enraged by the vandalism of a beachside memorial erected in her honour.

Yesterday a monument at Wangetti Beach erected to commemorate the 12-month anniversary of the 24-year-old’s death was desecrated sometime before 11am.

Toyah Cordingley's body was found at Wangetti Beach in October 2018.

Family spokesman and driving force behind the memorial Wayne ‘Prong’ Trimble said he stopped in at the memorial yesterday and noticed a large banner – printed to help catch the killer – was missing.

“It was very disappointing,” he said.

“At elevenish I called in to Toyah’s (memorial) to check it out and that’s when I realised the banner was missing.”

The banner at the Wangetti Beach memorial torn down by vandals on Saturday. Picture: WAYNE 'PRONG' TRIMBLE

Ms Cordingley’s body was found at Wangetti Beach in October 2018, her killer has never been found.

Mr Trimble said he met a woman who has just returned from walking on the beach who told him where the banner was.

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“She said ‘you need to have look near the bin’ and I went over there and found the banner folded up (next to the bin) with all these trinkets and sea shells and a heap of artificial sun flowers.

“And you could see that it had been pulled down. I just couldn’t work it out when I first seen it.”

A large, permanent concrete memorial for Toyah Cordingley was unveiled in a service at Wangetti Beach in October last year. The memorial stone includes a plaque with a quote chosen by Toyah's family. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

Family friend Wayne "Prong" Trimble helped to construct the memorial vandalised on Saturday. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

Response to the act on social media has been overwhelming as people express their “disgust” and anger at the tearing down of the banner.

“Why, why, why. It’s terrible,” Mr Trimble said.

The family spokesman said Steve Parsonage from the Copy Shop Business Centre printed a new banner to take the place of the one that was torn down.

“Now the brand new one is out there (at Wangetti Beach) and I have the original one here and that will go back to Snake and Vanessa (Ms Cordingley’s parents) and that’s the bottom line,” he said.

“So it’s good at the end of the day.”

Originally published as Vandalism of Toyah’s Wangetti memorial enrages community