William Tyrrell inquest: ‘State authorities f**cked up’

William Tyrrell’s biological father has slammed the state’s role in his son’s disappearance, saying “they f***ed up”. Both of William’s biological parents gave evidence today at an inquest into the three-year-old boy’s suspected abduction from the mid north coast home of his foster grandmother on September 12, 2014.

• Inquest into William Tyrrell’s disappearance begins in Sydney
• William Tyrrell’s foster mother tells inquest she heard a ‘high-pitched and sharp’ scream

William Tyrrell’s biological father has slammed the state’s role in his son’s disappearance, saying “they f***ed up”.

Both of William’s biological parents gave evidence today at an inquest into the three-year-old boy’s suspected abduction from the mid north coast home of his foster grandmother on September 12, 2014.

William’s biological mother described police thumping on the front door of their home in Sydney that afternoon, demanding to know where William was, despite him having been in foster care for more than two years.

Missing three-year-old boy William Tyrrell.

The biological father of William Tyrrell. Picture: Toby Zerna

“They didn’t tell me anything, they asked me if William was there,” she told the inquiry.

“They looked around, they thought our (other) son was William, he wasn’t.

“They asked what I’d done, blah blah blah and left.”

She told authorities: “I definitely don’t know where William is, I didn’t take him, I had nothing to do with it”.

“I want a normal life I don’t want to be hiding away with them.”

Junior counsel assisting the corner Tracey Stevens drilled the mother on the witness stand over her decision to go on the run with baby William after a Children’s Court order to hand him over to Family and Community Services in February 2012.

She said William’s paternal grandparents “made arrangements together” to have them go to a family home where William stayed for five to six weeks.

“You know you weren’t allowed to do that?,” Ms Stevens asked.

“Yeah” the mother responded.

Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin at the new search site for William Tyrrell in bushland at Batar Creek, 4km from where he disappeared. Picture by Peter Lorimer.

Ms Stevens asked “why did you take that action”. The mother said “because I couldn’t bring myself to give them my son.”

She last saw William during a supervised contact visit in Sydney in August 2014, the month before he vanished.

Discussing the role of state authorities and the foster care system, William’s biological father said “they f***ed up”.

“It was the Minister’s duty of care to keep William safe until he was 18 that was not the case at all,” he told he inquest.

He described how he walked to McDonald’s early the morning William vanished as he grappled with his already difficult family situation.

“Didn’t feel like going to work that day … I was dealing with things and underlying issues,” he told the inquest.

William Tyrrell

“Sick of all this stuff that was going on in my life … just dealing with DOCS and authorities.”

He returned home and was having a cigarette when police arrived and spoke “in a huddle” to William’s mother.

“After they explained to the mother I said ‘what’s wrong’. She said ‘he’s missing’ … he’s f***ing what,” he told the inquest.

The father claimed he was “the culprit” in the plot to abscond with William before FACS could take custody of him in 2012 but apologised for going through with it.

“At the time I was upset, I was annoyed, I was angry … it was all a fabrication of bullshit, that’s how I felt, I’m sorry for that,” he said.

The inquest has adjourned until a directions hearing next month and more witnesses, including persons of interest, are expected to be called when the inquest starts again in August.

Counsel assisting the coroner Gerard Craddock SC said this week’s hearings, which have included both biological and foster parents and evidence from police on the initial search for William, were “just the tip of the iceberg”.