‘Done nothing’: William Tyrrell’s foster mother issues statement
The foster mother of missing toddler William Tyrrell has broken her silence to issue an explosive statement about his disappearance.
EXCLUSIVE
William Tyrrell’s foster mother has claimed NSW detectives have “done nothing” to find the missing boy for five years, and may have solved the case if they had not instead been focused on “persecuting” her.
In her first public comments in almost two years, the woman – who cannot be identified – has reiterated her denial of involvement in William’s disappearance from the town of Kendall on September 12, 2014.
She claimed police had “gone to great lengths to blacken my character in the media” as they built a case against her, since she was publicly outed as the current person of interest for Strike Force Rosann detectives in 2021.
“I believe that if the police had properly investigated this case, instead of persecuting me, they may well have found the person responsible for William’s disappearance.”
In a statement released to news.com.au’s investigative podcast Witness: William Tyrrell, the foster mother said she believes the three-year-old was taken from her mother’s yard and that she has “no idea who took William, or what happened to him”.
“For the past five years, the police have done nothing to try to discover who took William, and what has happened to him.
“Instead, they have concentrated all their efforts on trying to build a case that I was in some way to blame for his death, and the disposal of his precious little body.
“They have gone to great lengths to blacken my character in the media.”
NSW Police were contacted for comment but said they were unable to due the ongoing coronial inquest proceedings.
Strike Force Rosann – the team established to resolve William’s disappearance – is being led by Detective Chief Inspector David Laidlaw, who took over the case from former-homicide detective Gary Jubelin in 2019.
Police have revealed they believe William may have died by misadventure, and that his foster mother disposed of his body.
In a rare personal statement, released exclusively to news.com.au, the foster mother says she loved William “as much as any mother could love her child … if not more”.
“It did not matter one bit that he was not connected to us biologically. William made my life complete; I loved him fiercely. I just loved being his ‘mummy’.”
“Never ever for a moment did I regret becoming a foster mother”, she said, adding the family was “and still are … connected as one”.
“It’s challenging to have hope and build plans for the future when our hearts remain shattered and in pieces,” she said.
“All I can hope for is that some person who knows something comes forward.”
In September 2021, almost seven years after William’s last sighting, The Daily Telegraph broke a story that Strike Force Rosann had “zeroed in on a new person of interest” who had “previously (been) ruled out by detectives”.
The report went on to reveal the investigation had “dramatically shifted” from previous lines of inquiry and detectives were “now confident they will solve the mystery”.
It quoted an unnamed senior police officer as saying fresh information “shines a totally new complexion on what investigators believe happened to William”.
Previously lines of inquiry had focused on the possibility William had been abducted by a stranger acting alone or linked to a pedophile ring.
At the time, the foster parents released a statement denouncing the report: “Once again, we are forced to watch others objectify William for personal gain.
“To publish unverified claims is disrespectful and devastating to everyone who knows and loves William.”
Ex-police commissioner Mick Fuller verified the article’s contents in an interview with 2GB’s Ben Fordham a month later, as he spoke about what was then a fresh search of bushland near William’s foster grandmother’s home at Benaroon Dr, Kendall.
“I brought a new team on board under Detective Chief Inspector Dave Laidlaw who’s probably the state’s most experienced homicide investigator, and he pulled together probably one of the best teams we’ve seen,” Mr Fuller said.
There was “one person in particular that we are looking closely at”, Mr Fuller said in an interview which also covered news of police seeking an AVO against the foster mother relating to allegations of assaulting another child.
She was identified in media reports as being the person of interest in William’s case on November 17, 2021.
Parts of the latest police theory have been disclosed in court proceedings brought against the toddler’s foster parents for relatively minor charges unrelated to the missing person’s case.
Detective Sergeant Andrew Lonergan told a court in 2022 he had formed the view that the foster mother “knows where William Tyrrell is”.
Asked in court if the theory “at its highest” was that the foster mother had been involved in interfering with a corpse, he replied “yes”.
He was also questioned whether a theory that William wasn’t hurt by the foster mother was the only one presented at secret hearings before the NSW Crime Commission.
“I’m not disagreeing with you. That was one of the theories, yes,” Det Lonergan replied.
In separate proceedings a court heard that during a visit to the foster mother’s house in October 2021 to serve here with a summons to appear at the crime commission, Sergeant Scott Jamieson told her they knew what happened to William.
“We aren’t guessing,” he said. “We know why, we know how, we know where he is.”
A brief of evidence recommending charges of interfering with a corpse and perverting the course of justice was in 2023 furnished to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions, as police sought advice on whether there is enough evidence to prosecute.
Police have since asked consideration of the brief to be paused until the inquest into the boy’s fate is finalised, which is scheduled for December.
Contact witness@news.com.au
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