A Woman Suddenly Vanished After Taking Her Dog For a Walk. The Next Day, Her Dad Found Her Shallow Grave

A father in Australia recounted the horrifying moment he found the body of his daughter after she never returned from walking her dog.

Toyah Cordingley, 24, disappeared while walking her dog along Wangetti Beach in October 2018. During a murder trial that began this week, her father, Troy Cordingley, recounted how he exhaustively looked for her, finally stopping to take a rest under a tree, ABC reported. He noticed a mound of sand nearby.

"It didn't look natural; just the sand had been heaped up," he testified, according to ABC. "I dropped down to my knees and I scooped the sand three times, and on the third scoop, there was a foot. I reeled back; I was horrified. I yelled out, 'help me, help me'. I couldn't believe it."

Rajwinder Singh, 40, is accused in Cordingley's slaying.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Paul Botterill testified Cordingley was repeatedly stabbed in the throat, abdomen, chest and fingers, news.com.au reported.

Dr. Botterill said the neck wounds, which severed her windpipe, would not have caused immediate death but rather extensive bleeding that was "incompatible with life," news.com.au reported.

The case against Singh has been described as circumstantial. Jurors heard testimony that the day after Cordingley's body was found he booked an 11 a.m. flight to New Delhi, ABC reported. Singh told his wife he'd be back the next day but instead never returned leaving her and his three children alone in Australia.

"He was not seen again until the 25th of November in 2022 when he was found in India and brought back to Australia," Crown Prosecutor Nathan Crane told the court, according to ABC.