Gary Jubelin: Finding out what happened to William Tyrrell is the only thing that matters

In an exclusive column Gary Jubelin responds to the attack on the way he operated the William Tyrrell investigation, but adds he wants only one thing – justice for a missing child. Also, don’t miss a bonus podcast with Gary Jubelin on the investigation.

I, like everyone else, want justice for William Tyrrell. To suggest that I got too close to a victim’s family that it clouded my judgment or to imply that I would rather let a suspect get away with murder because otherwise it would prove me wrong is just offensive.

Let me just make one thing clear: I would lock up my mother if I thought she had committed a murder.

I want to see the investigation into William Tyrrell’s disappearance solved as much as anyone and I can’t emphasise enough how much I want to get that point across.

I want to see whoever has committed a serious crime like this brought to justice.

With a large scale operation now under way in Kendall in the search for clues about William’s disappearance it has caused a huge media storm, particularly the fact that William’s foster mother was named as a person of interest.

Gary Jubelin appearing at the one year anniversary into the disappearance of William Tyrrell. Picture: Nathan Edwards

When I was running the investigation almost three years ago, I had cleared her of suspicion as had the original investigation team into William’s disappearance.

This has led to petty gossip and speculation that I got too close and didn’t put enough focus on her.

I’ve got close to every victim’s family throughout my whole career and I make no bones about it.

It’s only lazy police that say this is a problem because managing victims is hard.

Giving humanity to a situation when you’ve lost a loved one is not a big ask. From a good detective’s point of view, if I’m going after someone I want to be as close as possible as well.

You want to know what’s going on with the victim? Get someone that knows the victim well and you’ll get information that, if you keep yourself at a distance, you won’t.

I AM NOT THE SCAPEGOAT

WHEN NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller this week publicly damned the investigation I led into William’s disappearance it left me stunned.

Speaking on 2GB’s Ben Fordham Show Mr Fuller said “a new team on board had inherited a bit of a mess” and “the investigation was looking at some persons of interest that were clearly not, and I think some time was wasted”.

Those were very cutting words for a career detective like myself to hear.

But what really left me gobsmacked was that Mr Fuller would make these comments while announcing a large-scale police operation that he hoped would result in finding out what happened to William Tyrrell, which is the only thing that matters.

NSW Police search the front garden of William Tyrrell’s foster grandmother’s house in Kendall, on the mid north coast of NSW. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Why the Commissioner of Police would choose that forum to praise the current team and publicly criticise the previous team is unknown. It was unnecessary and in poor form when talking about a current active investigation.

Perhaps it will even make it more difficult to prosecute the case if someone is charged, because it could potentially assist a defence team to discredit the gathered evidence.

I became aware of these comments when my phone started to light up with numerous messages asking if I was OK. That confused me because I’ve been feeling good.

Since leaving the NSW Police almost three years ago, I had been doing my best to forge a career in media. I missed the police force, but I had moved on.

I had no ill will towards the NSW Police and would take pride in the good work the cops were doing, even though I was no longer one. I deliberately chose not to be critical of the police whether I had reason to or not.

My name is intrinsically linked to William Tyrrell’s disappearance. I accept this is part and parcel of leading investigations of this nature. I haven’t made any negative comments about the investigation, other than to say I should have been allowed to do a handover. I always spoke highly about the work the current team were doing to find out what happened to William.

William Tyrrell was last seen at his grandmother’s Kendall home in 2014. Picture: Police Media

So, when I heard Mr Fuller’s comments, I had a decision to make: Do I just let it go or do I address his criticism? The decision wasn’t hard. I am not taking this anymore. I am not going to be the NSW Police whipping boy. They have had their fun with me, but enough is enough.

It’s time to set some facts straight. I took over the investigation five months after William’s disappearance. I took ownership of what had been done and started to lead the investigation.

It wasn’t an easy investigation from the outset, but I had been doing homicide investigations for the majority of my career and having been trained and mentored by some highly skilled homicide detectives in the past, I was confident I had the experience to lead the investigation.

I had some good, dedicated detectives and analysts on the team known as Strike Force Rosann. Our ‘Terms of Reference’ were simple, find out what happened to William, and that’s what we set about to do.

LISTEN! Don’t miss a special podcast with Gary Jubelin on the William Tyrrell investigation.

I led the investigation for the next four years. I had a picture of William on my desk and had purpose and direction every day.

Detectives came and went from the strike force for a variety of reasons. Some wanted to stay, some wanted to leave. It was a difficult case and progress was slow. But, I saw a lot of people make sacrifices in their professional and personal life in an effort to find out what happened to William.

That’s why it was particularly disappointing to hear the Commissioner criticise the investigation so publicly.

Not only was it unnecessary, but the comments are not supported by documents retained by the NSW Police. It is very dangerous reinventing history to fit a narrative, when the records suggest otherwise.

Gary Jubelin in Kendall when he was leading the investigation into William Tyrrell. Picture: Nathan Edwards

Strike Force Rosann is one of the highest profile cases in the state. As a result, and quite rightly, there are checks and balances put in place to ensure the investigation is being managed properly. As the Supervisor, I was required to submit a signed Progress Report on a monthly basis.

These reports detail every step taken in the investigation, how you are using your resources, identifying suspects, targeting suspects, strategies and future directions. These reports are passed up the chain of command, with each level provided an opportunity to make comment and eventually the reports are signed off at Assistant Commissioner level. I submitted 44
of these Progress Reports and at no time was there any criticism of the direction or manner in which I was leading the investigation.

In addition to this there were at least three formal reviews where I outlined the progress of the investigation in front of a panel of senior police. I was also required at stages to prepare a Briefing Note on a fortnightly basis to the Deputy Commissioner outlining the progress of the investigation.

There were also numerous Situation Reports submitted regarding operations or significant events, Operational Orders and a comprehensive Investigation Plan.

As you see, no senior police officer in my direct chain of command can deny being aware of what was happening.

Police have begun an operation in Kendall to hopefully discover what happened to him in 2014. Picture: Police Media

Leadership is about taking responsibility. I stand by the manner and way in which I led the investigation. Police Minister David Elliot, on the back of the comments by the Commissioner came out publicly suggesting there should be a review of the investigation. I agree with this, but also agree with the Minister that the priority should be first solving the case.

I am sure my comments in response to the Commissioner’s criticism will further alienate me from the NSW Police, but I have concerns a narrative is being created to hang me out as the fall guy if William’s case is not solved. I am not going to cop that.

ARMCHAIR DETECTIVES

SINCE the police very publicly announced a breakthrough in the William Tyrrell case, I have been inundated with questions about my thoughts on the matter. One thing is certain; I hope police have got a breakthrough because outside the person/persons responsible, everyone wants this case solved.

I haven’t been involved in the investigation since January 2019.

However, I think it’s appropriate for me to say the person the police have announced as the one person of interest is someone I was told was eliminated as a suspect by retired Detective Chief Inspector Hans Rupp when I took over the investigation five months after William’s disappearance.

The possibility of this person being involved was further explored in 2016 when the person was further questioned and interrogated.

NSW police on the ground in Kendall continue to investigate William Tyrrell’s disappearance. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

An operation was planned in which the foster parents were basically ambushed by myself. I then interviewed both foster parents without providing them the opportunity to confer with one another and questioned them in regards to all issues identified by members of the strike force. These interviews weren’t something I was looking forward to. I was going to turn on people who had put trust in me – but that’s the job and my determination was to do whatever it took to find out what happened to William.

I didn’t make any friends in the interview room that day. At the completion of the interrogations a covert operation was conducted.

Based on the evidence obtained, I publicly stated at a news conference alongside then NSW Premier Mike Baird and Commissioner Andrew Scipione, that the person was not considered a suspect.

I can’t speak as to what’s gone on since then. The only thing I can say is at the time I left the strike force there was no evidence that changed my opinion.

This has been a difficult investigation for everyone involved. There was been a lot of assumptions and speculation about what has happened and a lot of people have been hurt along the way.

I am now looking at the whole, sad, sorry situation as an ex-cop working in the media. My thoughts for what it is worth are, perhaps we all need to take a deep breath, step back a bit and wait to see how the cards fall. Let’s all stop being armchair detectives and see where the evidence falls.

We all want to know what happened to William.