Former police commissioner says William Tyrrell case might never be solved

The former boss of NSW Police has given a reality check for those hoping to solve the mystery of missing toddler William Tyrrell.

EXCLUSIVE

The former top cop of NSW says it could take decades to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance of missing toddler William Tyrrell, if it ever is resolved at all.

In an exclusive interview with news.com.au podcast Witness: William Tyrrell, former police commissioner Mick Fuller also defended the detectives investigating the 10-year-old case, saying they had run an “extremely professional investigation”.

“It was never going to be easy to solve and maybe it won’t get solved this time,” he said.

“But, you know, people won’t give up … there are new police coming through that will take over this case from (current lead detective) Dave Laidlaw at some stage, and there’ll be another fresh set of eyes there.”

William vanished aged three from his foster grandmother’s Benaroon Drive home in the small town of Kendall, on NSW’s mid-north coast on September 12, 2014.

Former NSW Police commissioner Mick Fuller. Picture Scott Powick

The last known photo of William Tyrrell. Picture: Supplied

No one has been charged or arrested in connection to his disappearance, and the team investigating the case Strike Force Rosann has recovered no forensic or eye witness evidence to illuminate what happened.

Mr Fuller, who retired in 2022, was NSW Police commissioner when he brought in Detective Chief Inspector Mr Laidlaw to lead a refreshed Strike Force Rosann late 2021 after the departure of ex-detective Gary Jubelin.

At the time, he told 2GB the group assembled was “one of the best teams we’ve seen” and was hopeful of a breakthrough in the investigation.

Speaking with news.com.au, Mr Fuller said: “I would love to say that this matter was solved before I retired.”

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t. And sometimes it takes 30, 40 years for these type of matters to be solved,” he said.

“And unfortunately, then sometimes they’re never solved.”

Head of Strike Force Rosann, Detective Chief Superintendent David Laidlaw (left) at a search area of bush in Kendall in 2021. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

A five-year inquest into William’s disappearance and suspected death was due to resume on Monday before it was revealed a final week of hearings had been cancelled.

Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame has not yet set a date to hand down her findings.

She refused to allow Mr Laidlaw to give evidence at the hearing, and the court has redacted more than 150 pages of his statement which was obtained by news.com.au.

This was done because the blacked-out sections contain “opinions” not “proper fact-finding”, according to the senior lawyer assisting the inquest.

During the final sitting dates last month, the court detectives were at one stage investigating a theory that the boy “must have died in a fall” and his foster mother hid his body out of fear of losing access to another child in her care.

William’s foster mother, who cannot be identified, has always denied involvement in his disappearance and criticised police this year for doing “nothing” to find 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,” she said.

The fact police were looking at the foster mother as a person of interest was revealed in late 2021, and Mr Fuller told 2GB at the time there was “one person in particular that we are looking closely at”.

The foster parents of William Tyrell depart the coroners court in November. Picture: NewsWire/John Appleyard

Speaking to news.com.au Mr Fuller said, from his knowledge, the strike force had canvassed hundreds of persons of interest and he rejected suggestions Mr Laidlaw and his team had taken a narrow focus.

“When Dave Laidlaw and his team started, they went back from scratch and they had over 900 persons of interest. I won’t say suspects, but they were persons of interest,” he said.

“I finished up in January 2022, but I got my last briefing sometime in 2021.

“But even at that stage, they still had around 10 persons of interest that they were looking at. So, you know, in terms of tunnel vision for Rosann, I didn’t get a feeling from that during my time.”

Mick Fuller was appointed commissioner in 2017. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Even if people might not like where Mr Laidlaw and his team had “landed”, he said.

“I think that they have run an extremely professional investigation”.

Mr Fuller also addressed past criticism from the toddler’s foster family, saying if anyone felt he had “let William down … I would say sorry for that” but said the force had done “our best to focus on solving the matter” under his leadership.

The former commissioner also reflected on the first days of the investigation before police turned their mind to the potential for William being the victim of crime – not just a missing person.

Mick Fuller said William’s was a ‘challenging case’.

William vanished 10 years ago. Pictures: Supplied/NSW Police

News.com.au revealed last month that some who lived in or visited Benaroon Dr in the immediate aftermath of William disappearing described the “bedlam” as hundreds of searchers flocked to the scene.

“I feel it in my heart that in these cases, you could look back in hindsight and say, ‘the first three days were consequential in probably solving the case’, and there was a focus on William being a missing person,” Mr Fuller said.

“And I’m sure there’s things that we … all would have liked to have done better back in 2014.

“But I think, you know, at the same time, this is a particularly challenging case.”

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