‘In the shadows of my son’s disappearance, I felt as if I didn’t exist’: William Tyrrell dad
The birth father of William Tyrrell says he was “rejected” during the search for his missing son. And it has led to his life falling apart.
EXCLUSIVE
William Tyrrell’s birth father has written a cry from the heart about how he has “been made to feel as if I don’t exist” since the toddler’s disappearance and a “kick in the face” by authorities.
“I find it almost impossible to convey how heart wrenching it is to have to sit in the shadows of my own son’s disappearance and act as though I do not exist,” he writes in a new letter.
“I felt very angry when I was portrayed in the media as if I did not exist … due to the foster carers being portrayed as William’s mother and father.
“That made me feel completely rejected, isolated and powerless
“I was rocked to the core. My life spiralled out of control … and I became addicted to drugs.
“I’m not proud of my actions … I was in so much pain.
“I missed my children and I felt I failed them.”
The birth father’s letter, which describes as “a kick in the face” attempts to suppress the fact William was in the care of a foster family, not his birth parents, is an application to the William Tyrrell coronial inquest.
The biological father is applying for legal aid so he, like all other parties including William’s foster parents, the Salvation Army, and the NSW Government, can be legally represented.
When William disappeared, the birth father said he had tried to see if he could join the search effort with Mid North Coast police “but was instructed it was best if I stayed away”.
“Not a day goes by when I do not think about my son, where he could be and if he is safe from harm,” the father writes.
“(It) has added to mine and my family’s distress over the years, not being able to speak out freely about who we are and what role we played in William’s life.
“There has been a lot of suppression placed over this case.
“My ex-partner (William’s) mother and myself have been prohibited from speaking out about who we are.
“He is still my son, regardless of his care status, and I am still his father, regardless of my personal circumstances.”
The heartfelt letter, obtained by news.com.au, is directed at the fact William’s biological parents are the only legally unrepresented party at the William Tyrrell inquest.
A preliminary week of hearings was held in late March into the disappearance of William, who vanished from the NSW town of Kendall on September 12, 2014.
“While there were many people in attendance, including a raft of legal representatives for all parties, I and William’s mother were the only parties in attendance that were not legally represented,” William’s father writes.
He said a senior police officer said he had been informed William’s father had been offered and had declined a lawyer.
“I would like it stated on the record that I have never been approached regarding legal representation,” the father writes.
“It is in the public interest to find out what has happened to my son.”
The father said he had been “shocked “ to learn at the inquest “that William was being placed up for adoption without my knowledge or consent”.
He said before his son disappeared from the out-of-home care foster family, “William’s mother and I … were actively pursuing attempts to regain care status.”
He said he also felt he had lost an opportunity “to cross-examine key witnesses” at the March hearings.
“This is concerning for me as I do not want potentially vital moments to be lost,” he said.
“William’s health, safety and welfare should trump all other competing factors, given it has not yet been established if William is alive or deceased.”
He said at the time his son disappeared, he was in the parental care and responsibility of the NSW Minister for Family and Community Services (FACS).
Since then a landmark NSW Supreme Court ruling, upheld by the Court of Criminal Appeal, determined William’s case was of sufficient public interest to lift suppression orders on his care status.
“The Department had a legal obligation to keep my son safe from harm,” the father writes.
“There was substantial public interest in accountability and scrutiny of the Out of Home Care system … public officials and other agencies.
“The NSW FACS code of conduct and ethics contains … principles of honesty, integrity and transparency.”
William’s father said he qualified for Legal Aid from the NSW Coronial Inquest Unit on the grounds he was of “low socio economic status and background”, unemployed, had no financial assets or savings.
The William Tyrrell inquest is due to resume in August.
The father said his descent into drug addiction and crime had rendered him “incoherent”, in prison for short stints, and a burden on his mother, “my biggest support”.
But he said he had gone through drug rehabilitation and had passed regular urine tests on release from jail.
“I am not proud of my actions and they have come with heavy consequences,” he writes.