William Tyrrell: Gary Jubelin’s theory missing boy was accidentally run over and killed
A secretly recorded conversation reveals former homicide detective Gary Jubelin made the suggestion to a person of interest in the William Tyrrell case that he could have accidentally run over the missing child and covered it up.
NSW
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A former homicide detective suggested to a person of interest in the William Tyrrell case he could have accidentally run over the missing child and covered it up, a secretly recorded conversation reveals.
The explosive details of how widower Paul Savage ended up at the centre of the missing person investigation were revealed yesterday as the case’s former top cop, Gary Jubelin, appeared in court accused of illegally recording conversations with him.
Jubelin has pleaded not guilty and claims he had a lawful interest in recording the conversations.
For months, police ran a covert operation targeting 75-year-old Savage, who lived across the road from where Tyrrell vanished in Kendall on the Mid North Coast in 2014 and has denied any involvement in the case.
The court heard William’s foster grandmother, who owned the Benaroon Drive house where the three-year-old vanished, had to tell Savage to “stay away” from her house because he was making a “pest of himself”.
Police also alleged that Savage had gone missing for two hours after Tyrrell vanished in September, 2014, and retreated to his home through the back door while a frantic search carried on around him.
In May, 2018, after investigating the pensioner for months, Jubelin went to his house and recorded the 80-minute conversation on his phone.
The then-retired Detective Chief Inspector told Savage police could not eliminate him from the investigation and that he had concerns for his mental health.
Jubelin told Savage: “If it’s a case you have done this and it was a spur of the moment reaction – whether it is an accident or a brain snap for a moment, we can resolve it. I see it as a possibility that we can get you the treatment you need.”
In the recording, Jubelin said William’s sister told police that before her three-year-old brother vanished, he was “looking for daddy’s car”.
Jubelin explained to Savage tht William’s father’s car was similar to his and if it was the case that William was accidentally hit running to what he thought was his dad’s car, it could be addressed.
“It’s not something you have to hold onto and be guilty for the rest of your life,” he said. Savage told him there was no way he would have “done it”.
Police would also search bushland, Jubelin told him, because they couldn’t account for where Savage was for two hours after William vanished.
But, Jubelin said, “you could’ve taken his body somewhere else”.
The court heard another officer told Jubelin she didn’t think Savage was the culprit.
