Toyah Cordingley murder trial: Who is Rajwinder Singh’s lawyer Angus Edwards KC?

Angus Edwards KC was involved in a number of high profile cases including representing Daniel Morcombe’s killer before he represented Rajwinder Singh — the man charged with killing Toyah Cordingley.

Angus Edwards KC. Picture: Brendan Radke

Angus Edwards KC, who represented Rajwinder Singh in the murder trial of Cairns woman Toyah Cordingley, is no stranger to high profile cases in Queensland.

Mr Edwards is known for his passionate and demonstrative addresses to the jury and sometimes uncomfortable but unwavering grilling of witnesses, often leaning physically into the conversation over his lectern as he speaks.

He has acted in a number of high profile murder cases and has become known for his ability to call into question police investigations and present alternative possibilities to the jury.

During the three and a half weeks of Mr Singh’s trial Mr Edwards called out statements from witnesses that did not line up with previous statements they had made.

He also attacked the accuracy of mobile phone data used to implicate his client when cross-examining telecommunications experts.

Mr Edwards’ addresses to the jury reminded them of their moral and judicial duties as jurors and even called into question the character of his client despite his argument towards not guilty.

His delivery was confident and often targeted towards the words of the prosecution.

And overall his ability to develop alternative narratives was enough to build doubt within members of the jury.

Mr Singh has pleaded not guilty.

Mr Edwards began representing Mr Singh in 2024 and is a barrister at Lucas Chambers, a firm in Brisbane. He completed a Bachelor of Law at James Cook University and received a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Queensland University of Technology.

According to the Lucas Chambers website, Mr Edwards was admitted as a solicitor in 1993 and called to the Bar in 2001.

He became a KC, an honorific given to those who have shown expertise in the legal field, in 2023.

Prosecutor Angus Edwards in the heroin drug trial.

On the Lucas Chambers website, it says that Mr Edwards “is an experienced advocate with a long history in complex, high profile criminal matters throughout Queensland and occasionally New South Wales”.

“(Mr Edwards) contributes to the Queensland Criminal Bar community as a mentor, presenting papers and speaking at conferences and seminars, and through his pro bono and tribunal work,” the website says.

“He appears regularly in the peer nominated Doyle’s Guide as a leader in his field.”

Mr Edwards has worked as a defence barrister and Crown Prosecutor throughout his career.

In 2014, Mr Edwards represented Daniel Morcombe’s killer, Brett Peter Cowan, who was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 20 year non-parole period for the teenager’s murder.

Peter Davis, Angus Edwards and Tim Meehan during Daniel Morcombe’s trial in 2014.

In 2018 Mr Edwards represented Webbstar Latu, one of the seven defendants in the Queensland ‘toolbox murders’ trial, where the bodies of Cory Breton, 28, and Iuliana Triscaru, 31 were discovered in a large toolbox in a dam.

Mr Latu was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to the couple’s manslaughter.

He also represented Garry Brush, the alleged Lone Wolf bikie, who was cleared of the 2019 Gold Coast killings of Shane Ross and Cameron Martin.

Then in 2024 he represented Benjamin Charles Johnson, who was sentenced to nine years’ jail over the killing of Jakob Opacic, brother of former NRL player Tom Opacic.

The Crown Prosecutor in that case was Nathan Crane, who is also the Crown Prosecutor in Ms Cordingley’s murder trial.

Originally published as Toyah Cordingley murder trial: Who is Rajwinder Singh’s lawyer Angus Edwards KC?