Bombshell revelation about William Tyrrell investigation as lead cop makes claim on foster mum
A senior detective in the William Tyrrell investigation has told a court he believes the missing boy’s foster mother knows where the child is buried.
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William Tyrrell’s foster mother was grilled over bombshell allegations that the missing boy died when he fell from a veranda and she disposed of his body, a court has heard.
It came as the court heard police had told her they knew where the three-year-old’s body was buried on the outskirts of Kendall on the NSW Mid North Coast.
The revelations were made in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday afternoon as the foster mother – who cannot be named or identified – faced allegations of giving false or misleading evidence to the NSW Crime Commission.
She has pleaded not guilty to a charge of knowingly giving false or misleading evidence during the secret hearings in November last year.
Police allege the foster mother lied or misled NSW Crime Commission officials when she said during her evidence that she did not strike a child with a wooden spoon.
The court was on Thursday played audio from a listening device planted in her home by police.
It’s alleged that the audio picks up an incident in which she struck a child – who is not William Tyrrell – with a spoon.
It’s further alleged that a phone tap picked up the foster mother talking with her partner about the wooden spoon incident.
Police prosecutor Amin Assaad told the court that during her phone conversations with her partner, the woman said she hit the child “really hard with that wooden spoon” and that it was going to leave a “welt”.
Defence barrister John Stratton argued that it could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the foster mother knowingly lied, saying she had lived through a “nightmare” and was clearly distressed during her questioning before the Crime Commission.
The foster mother is separately facing two counts of common assault and earlier this year failed to have the charges dealt with on mental health grounds.
She will face a hearing next year along with William’s foster father, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of common assault and one count of intimidation.
Under cross examination from Mr Stratton, a senior Detective on the investigation told the court that he believed that the foster mother was aware of where William was buried.
“I’ve formed the view that (the foster mother) knows where William Tyrrell is,” Detective Sergeant Andrew Lonergan told the court.
However he denied the foster mother was charged with lying to the crime commission in an effort to put pressure on her as part of the homicide investigation.
“It’s not the purpose, but if it’s of assistance,” Sergeant Lonergan said.
During a fiery opening to the hearing, Sergeant Lonergan was accused by Mr Stratton about lying about his motivations for charging the woman.
The court was played audio taken from devices planted inside the foster parents’ home which captured the alleged incident with the child.
In the tape, a child can be heard screaming while a woman says “stand up, stand up”.
A child is heard saying “please” before a sound, similar to a smacking, can be heard.
William was in the care of the foster mother and her partner when he vanished in 2014 while at his foster grandmother’s home at Kendall on the NSW Mid-North Coast.
No one has ever been charged over his disappearance and the foster parents deny any knowledge or involvement.
The court heard that during the Crime Commission hearing, counsel assisting Sophie Callan put the allegation to the foster mother that William died when he fell from the veranda of his foster grandmother’s home.
“William went around on the veranda and toppled over and it was nobody’s fault,” Ms Callan said during the Crime Commission hearing, the court heard.
“It was an accident that he fell down off that veranda.”
The court heard that the foster mother responded: “No, I would have found him.”
The foster mother also denied using the foster grandmother’s car to dispose of William’s body.
The court heard also details of a heated conversation between two police officers, including Sergeant Lonergan, and the woman.
During the conversation the detectives made the allegation that the foster mother knew where William was buried.
The court was told that during the conversation, the foster mother was told: “You will have to live with it. Today is the day you make a decision for William.
“We understand decisions have been made for different people for different reasons.
“We aren’t guessing, we aren’t bluffing. We know why, we know how. We know where he is.”
In court on Thursday, Sergeant Lonergan told the court the foster mother responded “what?”
Sergeant Lonergan told the court he believed that William had been buried in an area on the corner of Batar Creek Rd and Cobb and Co Rd on the outskirts of Kendall.
He also told the court that he believed that Williams’ body was disposed of by the foster mother.
In November last year, police conducted searches around the location at Batar Creek Rd.
The foster mother is facing a two-day hearing before Magistrate Miranda Moody.
Earlier this year, William’s foster father, who cannot be named, also pleaded not guilty to two charges of giving false or misleading evidence to the crime commission.
Ms Moody will on Friday hand down her decision on whether the foster mother lied to the Crime Commission.
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