Toyah Cordingley murder: Mum’s emotional plea after police ‘breakthrough’
Vanessa Gardiner, the mother of murder victim Toyah Cordingley, has revealed she had searched Wangetti Beach in “pure darkness” with son Jack and Toyah’s dad Troy when they found Toyah’s dog Indie tied up.
Crime & Justice
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Vanessa Gardiner the mother of murder victim Toyah Cordingley, has revealed she had searched Wangetti Beach in “pure darkness” with son and Toyah’s dad when they found Toyah’s dog Indie tied up.
“On Sunday night, Toyah was reported as a missing person by her boyfriend.
She told in a pre-recorded video how with her son Jack and Toyah’s dad Troy they headed out in the early hours of Monday morning to search Wangetti Beach.
“We started out search in pure darkness with our little torches and continued to search as much as we could until light at 5.30am
“Eventually I found Toyah’s dog Indie and we kept searching until my phone battery went flat and Jack walked me back to the car.
“The police and SES had just arrived when we got back. I explained how we found her dog and Jack went back with uniformed officer.
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She had returned to the carpark when Mr Cordingley found Toyah’s body – with visible and violent fatal injuries – in the sand dunes, shortly after dawn.
“Troy had discovered Toyah not long after Jack arrived there with an officer.
“Despite being exhausted, Jack started carrying Troy back to the carpark before SES helped him back.
“Jack needed a short break on the beach. It was a truly heartbreaking moment.
“The disbelief of everything started and we spent the rest of the day with police at two stations in a state of shock,” Vanessa Gardiner said.
“The next day we returned to the scene and spoke to police.
“The scale of what was happening was unbelievable. SES, divers and police were everywhere, it was surreal and we could see the main crime scene where our Toyah was.
“The days that followed did not feel real to us, we visited police stations, and there were detectives that would often visit us, keeping us updated, they would also contact us daily.
“Toyah became the focus of a lot of media attention and so did our family. Media attempted to contact each of us multiple ways. But we did not want to talk to anyone.
“We wanted the focus to remain on Toyah, not us.”
Detective Inspector Sonia Smith said police have “worked relentlessly to pursue all avenues” of the unsolved homicide investigation.
In a breakthrough in the case, detectives obtained a number of unidentified items of interest in a search using police divers at Lake Placid in Caravonica, about 50km south of where Toyah’s body was found.
A police sniper stood guard against crocodiles as divers and about 50 SES scoured the freshwater lake and other creeks in the suburbs of Cairns.
“Every day we become one step closer,’’ Detective Inspector Smith said.
“Toyah’s family and the community have put their faith and trust in the police to find them answers in relation to Toyah’s death.
“I thank them for their patience while we work 24/7 in order to achieve this.”
Police have also thrown open the dragnet in a 200km-long stretch of the coast for reports of any men who have harassed women from the Cairns northern beaches to Cardwell over the past two years.
“We are also keen to speak to any female who has been approached by any male either acting inappropriately, aggressively, or making them feel uncomfortable in the last 12 months to 2 years in any beach area or secluded area between the northern beaches of Cairns to Cardwell.
“I’m not saying sexual, I’m using the words inappropriate, I using the words making people feel uncomfortable.
“I’m leaving that broad so community can make their own determination on what they feel they would like to come forward and report to the police.
“We’ve already had a number of calls (from women) to Crimestopper in relation to males causing them concern on our beaches.”
Homicide detectives from Brisbane and officers from as far as Thursday Island have been part of the murder taskforce fielding more than 800 calls to CrimeStoppers.
“We have multiple lines of inquiry as you can appreciate every call to Crimestoppers generates a new line of inquiry and a new person of interest potentially.
“It’s of paramount importance (to solve the case). We know the community expects the police will find answers not just for Toyah’s family but the community as a whole.”
In the pre-recorded police video with husband Snake by her side, Vanessa Gardiner, made a heart-wrenching appeal for public support to help hunt down her daughter’s killer.
She told of her family’s “horror” and “nightmare” over the unsolved murder of the beloved 24-year-old at Wangetti Beach four weeks ago.
“You can help our broken family by bringing hope and justice for Toyah’s senseless death,’’ the Cairns mother-of-three said.
“To have her stolen from us in such a manner breaks our hearts in ways you can’t even imagine.
“It’s an emotional rollercoaster of grief, hate, anger, and nothingness, feeling hollow, guilt, not knowing how to feel.’’
Police today released the statement which includes video footage of a happy, smiling, waving Toyah at work in a pharmacy health food shop before she was killed walking her dog at Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns, on Sunday, October 21.
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