Twist in Tyrrell foster parents case as stalking charges mentioned

There has been a fresh development in a court case involving William Tyrrell’s foster parents after the couple was charged with stalking.

There has been a new development in the case of William Tyrrell’s foster parents after the couple was hit with stalking charges.

The couple were first charged in November last year in relation to the alleged assault of a child at a home on Sydney’s north shore, who is not William and cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Legal representatives for the couple entered the not guilty pleas in December.

However in April, the foster father was hit with a charge of stalking and intimidation intending fear of physical harm against the same child.

The foster mother faces two charges of that same offence.

William Tyrrell’s foster parents are set to face court on Friday. Picture: Supplied

In December, the foster mother’s lawyer Sharon Ramsden said she would argue to have the case dealt with under the Mental Health Act.

A successful application allows a person who is charged with a criminal offence and suffers from a mental health impairment or cognitive impairment to be spared the possibility of conviction or a finding of guilt.

But in court on Friday Ms Ramsden said she couldn’t proceed with the application due to a delay brought on by the additional charges.

“I couldn’t get another appointment for my client to be assessed since the charges,” she told the court.

“It was two weeks to the date I got the charges I believe.”

The couple did not appear in court or via AVL as the matter was mentioned.

The Magistrate said he did not understand why the application could not go ahead.

“Looking at the additional charges, I didn’t think it would take it to another degree of seriousness,” he said.

The police prosecutor told the court the brief of evidence was not ready, but it is believed there will be eight to 10 witnesses for the hearing.

Investigators spent December scouring the bushland around Kendall. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Peter Lorimer.

Legal counsel for both foster parents said they will have at least one witness each.

The matter was adjourned for two weeks and moved to Parramatta Local Court where dates will be set for the hearing and for the mental health application to be heard.

Neither the child nor the couple can be identified for legal reasons, while non-publication orders also restrict media reporting on the nature of the allegations.

The couple’s charges come after a fresh search for missing toddler William under Strike Force Rosann which has generated intense public and media interest in the family.

William, then aged three, vanished in 2014 at his then foster grandmother’s house in Kendall on the NSW mid-north coast.

He has never been found despite years of Detective work, the interrogation of people of interest and a coronial inquest that remains open.

The search in December came after police said they were focusing on William’s foster mother as a person of interest in the case for the first time.

His foster parents have strongly denied anything to do with his disappearance.

Originally published as Twist in Tyrrell foster parents case as stalking charges mentioned