New development for William Tyrrell’s foster parents

There has been a fresh development in the case of William Tyrrell’s foster parents after they were charged with child assault.

William Tyrrell’s foster parents will front court for a three day hearing into child assault allegations in January next year.

In November 2021 the couple were charged with assaulting a child who is not William and cannot be identified for legal reasons.

William Tyrrell was wearing this Spider-Man suit when he disappeared.

The couple pleaded not guilty.

After the assault charges were laid, police charged the couple with further alleged offences against a child who was not William.

The man pleaded not guilty to an additional count of intimidation, while the woman pleaded not guilty to a further count of common assault and two counts of intimidation.

She has indicated she will attempt to have all of the charges laid against her thrown out on mental health grounds.

The couple did not appear when their case was mentioned briefly in Parramatta Local Court on Friday.

Magistrate Peter Feather said a hearing into the allegations would take place over three days on January 16, 17 and 18, 2023.

Police continue to investigate William’s disappearance. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Peter Lorimer.

The woman’s application to have her charges thrown out on mental health grounds will be heard on June 30.

Police previously said up to 10 witnesses could be called to give evidence during the hearing.

The couple has said they will have at least one witness each.

Neither the alleged victim, nor the couple can be identified for legal reasons, while non-publication orders also restrict media reporting on the nature of the allegations.

William Tyrrell was in the couple’s care when he vanished in 2014 at his foster grandmother’s house in Kendall on the NSW mid-north coast.

The three-year-old was never found, despite years of Detective work, the interrogation of people of interest and a coronial inquest.

A renewed search took place in December after police said they were focusing on William’s foster mother as a person of interest in the case for the first time.

The foster parents deny any wrongdoing and say they have no knowledge of what happened to William.