William Tyrrell’s foster parents charged with alleged assault of a child

The foster mother and father of missing boy William Tyrrell have been charged with the alleged assault of another child — not William.

William Tyrrell’s foster parents have been charged over the alleged assault of a child — not William — on Sydney’s upper north shore.

In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, NSW Police said the couple were charged with common assault of a child who cannot be named for legal reasons.

“As part of ongoing investigations under Strike Force Rosann, detectives from the Homicide Squad received information relating to the suspected assault of a child at a home on Sydney’s Upper North Shore,” a NSW Police spokesperson said.

“Following inquiries, Strike Force Rosann detectives served Court Attendance Notices on legal representatives of a 56-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man earlier today.”

The pair are due to appear at Hornsby Local Court on Tuesday, November 23.

The charges do not relate to William.

Earlier: Police search of Kendall home continues

Earlier, detectives searching the Kendall home of William’s foster grandmother were said to be focusing their investigation into his disappearance on the child’s foster mother.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the 56-year-old woman, who had been caring for William and his sister since March 2012, is now a police suspect, although there is no suggestion she is guilty of any crime.

On Monday, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said “there is one person in particular we are looking closely at”.

It came as police seized a car that once belonged to William Tyrrell’s foster grandmother.

The vehicle, a silver Mazda hatchback, was seized from a home in Gymea, in the Sutherland Shire, under a coronial order on November 9.

It is being held in a secure facility where forensic examinations and analysis is underway – a process detectives say will take “several weeks”.

The car belonged to William’s foster grandmother at the time he went missing. She died in March, aged 88.

News.com.au understands police are investigating whether the vehicle was used to move William’s body after his death.

The person who had ownership of the car at the time it was seized is not believed to be related to the disappearance of the three-year-old in 2014.

A woman at the house in Gymea told news.com.au on Wednesday she did not know William’s foster family and declined to comment further about how she came into possession of the car.

A neighbour then asked news.com.au to leave, declaring the entire street was private property.

The home sits at the end of a long gravel road in a semi-rural subdivision.

Strike force detectives seized a Mazda from a home at Gymea under a Coronial Order last Tuesday. Picture: NSW Police

The car belonged to William Tyrrell’s foster grandmother at the time of his disappearance. Picture: NSW Police

NSW Police also released new images of the forensic examinations taking place at William’s foster grandmother’s home in Kendall, where he was last seen.

Authorities remained at the house on Tuesday night and are understood to have kept guard overnight as detectives continued their hunt to solve the mystery of what happened to the little boy.

Officers have continued to focus their attention on an area below the second-storey balcony, where detectives are probing a theory the boy may have fallen to his death.

William Tyrrell disappeared from Kendall, New South Wales, on 12 September 2014.

William Tyrrell was playing hide-and-seek when he vanished.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet described the situation as “heartbreaking” and thanked police for their ongoing work on Wednesday.

“Hopefully what we are seeing suggests that we’ll get a breakthrough shortly,” he said.

“I think I can speak on behalf of everyone across our state, who would be heartbroken by this entire story, that we hope we have a breakthrough as soon as possible.”

In new footage released overnight, a number of officers appeared to be using metal detectors in the garden and removing plants and other debris.

A cadaver dog had earlier been used to comb through the garden bed.

As part of ongoing investigations into the 2014 disappearance of three-year-old William Tyrrell, strike force detectives seized a Mazda from a home at Gymea. Picture: NSW Police

Officers returned to the property on Tuesday and remained overnight.

The vision comes from Strike Force Rosann, which has been working under the premise that William’s disappearance was a result of human intervention.

Late night images reveal investigators focusing on a specific area where police had earlier dug and sprayed luminol, a substance that shows traces of blood.

In the pictures, investigators can be seen combing through the garden and the outside walls of the home with a bright blue light.

Video reveals police spraying more of the area and scanning photographs of items with the chemical.

Police have also been scanning an area of bushland about one kilometre from the house.

Forensic examinations are taking place in Kendall. Picture: NSW Police

Police continued into the night. Picture: NSW Police

Shortly before 10.30am on September 12, 2014, William, then aged three, was playing in the yard of his grandmother’s home.

At the time, hundreds of residents and emergency service workers and volunteers searched homes, forests, creeks and paddocks throughout the rural township, but William could not be located.

It is understood the property was guarded overnight.

“The Strike Force Rosann team returned to Kendall with local detectives and specialist forensic officers to have another look at the residence where William was last seen, as well as other areas nearby,” Det Ch Insp Laidlaw said last week.

“Further information has since come to light, as part of our ongoing review of the materials gathered by investigators since the moment William went missing seven years ago.

“As our team continue to conduct inquiries and explore all avenues of investigation, our focus has been identifying if anything has been missed, or if there are any details – no matter how small – that need to be clarified.

“Police remain committed to finding out what happened to William, but our most important job here is to bring him home for both families.”