Former William Tyrrell cop’s version of crucial Gary Jubelin call

A different account of a crucial incident that led to a former cop on the William Tyrrell case being found guilty in court was heard during separate proceedings.

A detective who worked on the strike force investigating the disappearance of William Tyrrell gave a completely different version of events about an incident that brought down the top cop on the case.

Former homicide squad detective Gary Jubelin was in 2020 convicted of unlawfully recording phone conversations with a man he had considered a person of interest, Paul Savage.

Mr Jubelin argued he had another officer on Strike Force Rosann, Greg Gallyot, record one of the conversations with Mr Savage in November 2017 to protect his lawful interest, but was found guilty.

Former detective chief inspector Gary Jubelin. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

Mr Gallyot, who a magistrate found was later “elevated to effectively his dream job”, gave evidence at the Local Court hearing of being instructed to tape the call.

But news.com.au’s podcast Witness: William Tyrrell can reveal another man who was also present in the room during the call, Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Lambert, denied hearing this in separate court proceedings.

It’s understood Mr Jubelin’s lawyers were informed Mr Lambert was unable to give evidence during his trial, however, a 2022 judgment before the Industrial Relations Tribunal (IRC) suggests Mr Lambert “had made it known that he was available to be called if required”.

In those proceedings, he refuted hearing Mr Jubelin telling Mr Gallyot to record the call with Mr Savage, saying he would not have stood for conduct that was “contrary to my ethics and all I believed in as a police officer”.

“If at any stage I had heard Jubelin ask or direct any officer to unlawfully record a private conversation with Savage or any other person, I would have immediately intervened and challenged what he was proposing to do,” Mr Lambert said.

The last known photo of William Tyrrell, who disappeared on September 12, 2014.

His statement to the IRC also said: “I did not hear Jubelin say to Gallyot, ‘Just do it’, as is alleged by Gallyot, in reference to directing him to record this conversation. I did not see Jubelin give Gallyot a ‘stern look’ whilst I was in the room with them.”

The IRC hearing in 2022, in which Mr Lambert challenged disciplinary actions against him for failing to report alleged misconduct by Mr Jubelin, heard he had been highly critical of the focus on Mr Savage.

He said in past statements to police hierarchy that Mr Jubelin had “tunnel vision” for Mr Savage, adding he was concerned evidence gathered “was not being presented in a balanced or fair manner”.

Paul Savage was never charged and is not accused of wrongdoing. Picture: AAP Image/Peter Lorimer

“I felt that (Mr Jubelin) and others were presenting material as ‘evidence’ that was selective, taken out of context, misleading, inaccurate and in some cases incorrect,” Mr Lambert said in a June 2020 statement.

“It was like they were trying so hard to locate ‘something’ that implicated (Mr Savage) … that they were manipulating information to make it appear to have suspicion attached to it instead of looking at it in a fair and reasonable manner with balanced views.”

Mr Savage was never charged and is not accused of wrongdoing.

Mr Lambert was in 2017 the officer in charge of Strike Force Rosann, but told the IRC he had been “kept at arm’s length” from inquiries into Mr Savage.

The veteran detective told the tribunal in a written statement that he was concerned about “misleading affidavits” being prepared in the investigation into Mr Savage.

Mr Lambert wrote there was “simply no evidence in relation to Savage, but Jubelin kept insisting there was”.

“I felt and foresaw that a complete miscarriage of justice was about to take place in relation to Savage if Jubelin continued on the path he was taking,” he wrote in his statement.

He also said if he “would not have participated” in any unlawfully recorded phone call: “I would have left the room and reported the matter to a more senior officer.”

Mr Lambert said he was not aware the call had been taped until mid-2019, and the IRC found “the evidence does not establish that DSS Lambert was aware at the time the

call was made that it was being unlawfully recorded”.

Gary Jubelin addresses the media during his trial in 2020. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

Mr Gallyot claimed in a 2019 statement that Mr Lambert was present when Mr Jubelin asked him to record the call with his mobile phone.

“I remember looking at Lambert with a concerned look as we all knew there was no warrant in existence,” he said.

“Lambert just looked down at the table. I then looked at Detective Chief Inspector Jubelin with the same look, who just sat there glaring at me with a look that suggested I just do as he say.

“While Detective Chief Inspector Jubelin was glaring at me he said, ‘Just do it!’”

Mr Jubelin denied saying words to this effect in his 2020 trial.

Another detective on the strike force, Detective Senior Constable Louise Rodden, told a court “everyone knew about” the recorded phone calls to Mr Savage.

“It was not a secret as such,” Ms Rodden said.

During Mr Jubelin’s Local Court hearing, he gave evidence of open hostility between he and Mr Lambert – saying the two nearly came to blows amid a “heated argument”.

“He had lost the plot,” Mr Jubelin told the court. “It was just ranting and ravings … I believe this job broke him.”

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