William Tyrrell investigation plunges into black hole after police backflip

The case against William Tyrrell’s foster mother and allegations she was involved in his disappearance have faltered after NSW Police asked the DPP to suspend their review of the evidence against her.

The case against William Tyrrell’s foster mother and suspicions she was involved in his disappearance have faltered after NSW Police asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to suspend their review of the evidence against her.

Detectives working on NSW’s most high-profile murder investigation last year recommended prosecutors charge the 58-year-old woman with interfering with a corpse and perverting the course of justice, alleging she covered up his accidental death in 2014.

The police theory is that William suffered fatal injuries when he fell from the veranda of a Kendall home, on the state’s mid north coast in 2014, and that his foster mother buried his body in bushland nearby.

A brief of evidence against the boy’s foster mother was given to the DPP in August for advice on the strength of it and to confirm there were reasonable prospects of conviction.

But the case took a twist this week when police withdrew their request and instead asked the DPP to cease looking at it until after the inquest sits at the end of this year.

William Tyrrell's foster parents, who cannot be identified for legal reason.

Three-year-old William Tyrrell.

“The NSW Police Force asked that this Office suspend its consideration of their request for advice in this matter until after the conclusion of the next tranche of the inquest hearings in November and December 2024,” the DPP said in a statement.

Sources close to the investigation said detectives were keen to see what new evidence the inquest uncovers.

However the about-face by police could leave the long-running inquest, which has been going since 2019, in limbo.

At the most recent directions hearing, Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame said the court needed clarity on the potential criminal charges before it could resume.

“I really can’t proceed until that issue is finalised,” Ms Grahame said at the time.

William, then aged 3, vanished from the front yard of his foster grandmother’s home on September 12, 2014.

No one has ever been charged and the boy’s foster mother denies any involvement in his disappearance.

A new team of detectives from Strike Force Rosann spent weeks re-examining the area in late 2021, including spraying luminol — a chemical which shows traces of blood — around the grandmother’s house.

A riding school in the area was also searched where police suspected William may have been buried but nothing was found.

In the days after his disappearance, the boy’s foster mother told investigators she drove down Batar Creek Rd looking for William, then stopped at a riding school to let a car behind her pass.

“I get to the riding school and I just think, ‘he’s not here’,” she told police, in a recorded interview.

The boy’s foster mother and father are expected to give evidence at the inquest in December.
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