‘Ridiculous’: Explosive William Tyrrell claim exposed

A witness in the disappearance of William Tyrrell has levelled explosive criticism at police, who falsely claimed she had refused to give evidence.

EXCLUSIVE

A William Tyrrell witness claims police investigating the three-year-old’s disappearance misled a court by saying she refused to provide a statement of her evidence – when she says she was never asked.

Her explosive criticism is the latest bombshell from news.com.au’s podcast series Witness: William Tyrrell.

These include missing evidence, tips that were never followed and that police refused to give witnesses copies of their own interviews after they criticised the strike force.

This latest witness believes the strike force was wrong to be targeting William’s foster mother as a suspect, and that their theory of what happened “is a Monty Python pantomime”.

A close friend of William’s foster parents, the woman does not believe the couple were involved in his disappearance from his foster grandmother’s home near Kendall, on 12 September 2014.

“It is ridiculous,” said the woman, who asked not to be named.

When told one of the strike force detectives, Sean Ogilvy, had given evidence in a court saying she declined to give police a witness statement, the woman said, “I was never asked.

“I did not decline. I was never asked. I was never ever asked to provide that statement.”

She confirmed that two other detectives did question her about William’s foster parents, who cannot be named, but said she told them, “I don’t believe that they had anything to do with William’s disappearance”.

William Tyrrell has been missing since 2014. Picture: NSW Police

William Tyrrell's foster parents cannot be identified. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

The woman also provided a written reference for the foster parents in a different matter, which has been seen by news.com.au.

This reference says, “I know without a shred of doubt that they are not capable or guilty of any negative behaviour towards children.

“I was interviewed by police officers in October 2021,” the reference continues. “What I have written here, is what I told the police.”

Detective Senior Constable Sean Ogilvy told Parramatta Local Court last year that police had a “substantial number of witness statements”.

These were gathered as part of a separate prosecution of the foster parents for the alleged assault and intimidation of a child who is not William, the court heard.

Mr Ogilvy is part of the strike force investigating William’s disappearance and the prosecution argued these other alleged offences were part of a pattern of behaviour by the foster mother.

Mr Ogilvy said four people declined to give statements to police, also including a former colleague of the foster mother and a teacher.

He did not clarify during the hearing that any of these four said they had not been asked to give police a statement.

The couple had several of the charges dismissed but pleaded guilty to or were convicted of others, although they are appealing these convictions.

NSW Police said they were unable to comment due to the ongoing inquest into William’s disappearance, which is due to resume next month.