William Tyrrell family told ‘he’s not our only case’ by police: Court
In the ninth day of former detective Gary Jubelin’s court hearing, the foster mother for William Tyrrell has made stunning allegations about the former commander of the Homicide Squad.
NSW
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The foster mother of William Tyrrell has claimed the former Homicide Squad boss allegedly approached her at her missing child’s inquest and said “you are not the only family of victims of crime”.
Now-Assistant Commissioner Scott Cook also allegedly told the woman, who can’t be legally identified, that William wasn’t his squad’s “only case” and that it would be moved to the unsolved homicide team.
The foster mother was giving evidence for the defence today at the hearing of ex-detective Gary Jubelin, who has been charged with recording four conversations with a person of interest during the investigation into William’s suspected abduction in 2014.
In emotional evidence this afternoon, the woman said she met Mr Cook at the NSW Coroner’s Court during the inquest into William’s disappearance last March.
“Superintendent Cook said to me ‘you are not the only families of victims of crime’,” she said.
“I stopped and looked at him and thought ‘no but you are at the inquest for one of those victims’.
“I then said to him, ‘William is three-years-old. He was taken from his grandmother’s house. It was a street with 20 houses on it, we were sitting around the corner and he was in care.
“I don’t think you have any other cases like that and I don’t think you can just give up on him.”
The woman alleged Mr Cook told her the case would be sent to the Unsolved Homicide Team, where the review process for cases had been improved.
“I said to him ‘you can’t send it to unsolved, you can’t do it’,” she said.
The woman told the officer that the investigation would sit in a box and in six months time police would pull it out again and say “nothing new”.
Mr Cook, who was appointed to the Homicide Squad in 2017 after leading the Organised Crime and Asian Crime Squads, allegedly confirmed that it would go to the unsolved homicide team at the end of the inquest.
“I am thinking, ‘I can’t believe you are saying this to us here at the inquest for this little boy.” William’s foster mother said.
“You are saying this to his parents …”
Once she finished her evidence she broke down in tears and left the courtroom.
The allegations echoed similar claims made by Jubelin, who was taken off the Tyrell investigation before he was charged last year, on Wednesday.
He told the court that Mr Cook allegedly pointed to a picture of William and said ‘no one cares about that little kid, get him off the books and get him to unsolved homicide’.
Mr Cook categorically denies saying those words, the court has head.
Yesterday the NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller also issued a statement supporting the senior officer.
“I have full confidence in the professionalism of Assistant Commissioner Scott Cook, who has more than 31 years of exemplary service with the NSW Police Force, which includes receiving the Australian Police Medal in 2019,” he said.
The explosive claims from William’s foster mother came on the ninth day of Jubelin’s hearing, which has been as much about allegations he recorded conversations without a proper warrant as it has been about internal police politics and discontent.
Under cross examination today, Jubelin was accused of lying about Mr Cook’s comments to suit his own case.
“I totally disagree,” Jubelin replied.
Crown prosecutor Philip Hogan asked Jubelin why he didn’t make a note or a complaint about the comment at the time.
“It wouldn’t constitute a complaint in the NSW Police Force,” Jubelin replied.
“I think it was totally inappropriate and very personal comments but that wasn’t going to stop me investigating (William’s case), that was his opinion …”
Mr Hogan also suggested Jubelin belittled and humiliated Paul Savage, a 75-year-old person of interest when Jubelin led the investigation, in an interview and during the conversations he recorded.
Jubelin put “pressure” on Savage and quizzed him on very sensitive topics, Mr Hogan said, including his dead wife, claims he stalked a post woman in Kendall and his sex life.
Savage has not been charged and denies any involvement in William’s disappearance.
Jubelin recorded four conversations with Savage, including three in person and one on the phone in 2017 and 2018.
He has pleaded not guilty and argued he made the recordings to protect his lawful interest in case Savage made a complaint about him or threatened suicide.
Jubelin told the court he always considered “duty of care” when applying pressure to someone.
“When I said suicide, it wasn’t fait accompli he was going to commit suicide,” he said.
“But it was a consideration … we put things in place to address those concerns.
“With the benefit of hindsight I approached the conversations and Mr Savage is still with us.”
When three of the conversations were recorded, there were surveillance devices in Savage’s home but, at times, they malfunctioned.
When Jubelin directed a junior office to record his phone call with Savage in November, 2017, a telephone intercept warrant for Savage’s phone had expired.
Mr Hogan suggested he could have just applied to extend the warrant.
“We heard about the trouble I had with staffing and listening device products …” Jubelin replied.
“We couldn’t roll those warrants over again because we didn’t have the sheer capacity to manage the info coming in about Savage.”
The hearing continues.