Police speak to men described as ‘highly agitated’ at Wangetti Beach

DETECTIVES hunting the killer of Toyah Cordingley have tracked down two men seen “freaking out” near the murder scene at Wangetti Beach.

DETECTIVES hunting the killer of Toyah Cordingley have tracked down two men seen “freaking out” near the murder scene at Wangetti Beach.

Police today confirmed they’ve spoken to the men who were stranded with a flat tyre shortly after the 24-year-old was believed murdered.

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Witnesses who helped the two “highly agitated” men with a car jack to fix the flat tyre contacted police in an ongoing public appeal by the top-level murder taskforce for any information to help crack the unsolved case.

“Police have identified the two men and obtained statements from them,’’ a police spokesman said.

“They gave us a version of their movements and their story has been checked out.”

Toyah Cordingley was murdered on Wangetti Beach.

They told police they were “agitated” and “stressing out” because they were following another vehicle and feared they would get lost, he said.

“It’s good they’ve been accounted for. It’s the movements of those we cannot account for that is the concern.’’

The news comes as details of Toyah’s funeral have been announced.

A notice published in The Cairns Post today invited Ms Cordingley’s friends and family to pay their respects to the 24-year-old at the Cairns Funeral Directors Chapel at Manunda from 10am Friday.

“Cordingley, Toyah Jade. Adored daughter of Troy and Vanessa. Most dearly loved stepdaughter of Mary Feletar and Darren Gardiner. Loved sister of Jack and Leynah. Loved granddaughter of Joan, Donna, Alma, Robert and Lorinda. Loved niece and cousin. Very much loved by everyone who knew her,” the notice reads.

Ten days on from the murder, homicide detectives were eager to reassure the public they are working 24/7 to follow any possible leads in the hunt for Toyah’s killer.

More than 640 people have contacted CrimeStoppers as police appeal for any information “no matter how big or small”.

A supplied CCTV image shows Toyah Cordingley crossing at the intersection of Sheridan Street near Rusty's Markets on Sunday, October 21. Toyah Cordingley's body was discovered in dunes at Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns, the next day.

OVERNIGHT

POLICE are yet to interview witnesses about two “highly agitated” men behaving suspiciously near Wangetti Beach on the day Toyah Cordingley was murdered.

Witnesses exclusively told The Courier-Mail they helped the men fix a flat tyre on a dirty white ute shortly after the 24-year-old is thought to have been killed.

“They were really freaking out,” a witness, who asked not to be named, said.

“It was strange behaviour, they were in a huge panic. It was just a flat tyre but they were really stressing out.”

He said one of the two men jumped out on to the Captain Cook Highway in front of his 4WD vehicle to wave them down just a few kilometres from the Wangetti Beach southern carpark on Sunday, October 21 at about 4.30pm.

“It might be a complete coincidence, and they might be totally innocent,” he said.

“They were in a highly agitated state.’’

Ms Cordingley was murdered as she went for a walk at the beach with her dog about 2pm. Her body, with visible and violent injuries, was found by her father in sand dunes the next day.

Toyah Cordingley.

The witness did not recall any visible injuries on the two men like scratch marks.

“They were scruffy, all the camping gear looked like it had just been chucked in the tray in a hurry, not tied down, and their story didn’t add up. The hole in the rear tyre was a chunk torn off the inside wall, like they’d reversed over a rock, but they reckoned it happened driving down the highway.’’

He said the two men, one heavily-built, one leaner, both in their mid-20s, said they’d been on a 4WD trip, the vehicle belonged to a friend, and they had no jack to swap over the spare tyre.

He let them use his jack, and they were “extremely thankful’’, before driving south towards Cairns.

“It was all very weird.

“I don’t know if they are possible suspects, maybe the police have other leads. But at the very least I thought they’d want to come and get the fingerprints off my jack.’’

Wangetti Beach where Toyah Cordingley was found dead. Picture: Stewart McLean

Detectives hunting the killer or killers of the “beautiful soul” pharmacy worker have received 600 calls to CrimeStoppers and now have at least 60 lines of inquiry, a police spokesman said.

Toyah’s sister Leynah Gardiner revealed a public appeal for a family who had been at Wangetti Beach on the day had worked with the potential witnesses contacting police yesterday.