Delay as William Tyrrell foster parents face assault trial

There have been delays as the foster parents of William Tyrrell face trial on charges of assault, after fresh charges of stalking and intimidation were laid in April.

William Tyrrell vanished in 2014 at his then foster grandmother’s house in Kendall on the NSW mid-north coast.

An assault case against the foster parents of missing toddler William Tyrrell is set to proceed to trial.

Representatives for the foster parents, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before Hornsby Local Court on Friday morning for a brief mention.

The foster mother is currently facing two counts of stalking and intimidation and two counts of common assault against a child, who is not William.

The foster father is facing one count of common assault and one count of stalking and intimidation against a child.

The couple entered not guilty pleas in November.

The court heard William’s foster mother would continue to apply to have her charges heard under the Mental Health Act.

In November it was reported William’s foster mother and now-deceased foster grandmother were being treated as persons of interest in his disappearance.

Both foster parents deny any wrongdoing and no charges have been laid in relation to William’s disappearance in 2014 from his then foster grandmother’s house in Kendall on the NSW mid-north coast.

The mother’s lawyer, Sharon Ramsden, said she would still attempt to have the case dealt with under the Mental Health Act, but delays brought on by the fresh charges laid earlier this month, of stalking and intimidation, resulted in a delay in medical assessments being carried out.

“I couldn’t get another appointment for my client to be assessed since the charges,” she told the court.

“It was two weeks to the date I got the charges I believe.”

A successful application allows a person who is charged with a criminal or traffic offence and suffers from a mental health impairment or cognitive impairment to avoid a conviction or a finding of guilt.

The prosecutor stated the brief of evidence for both individuals had not yet been completed and estimated it would be six weeks before outstanding statements would be finalised.

The man and woman have both been charged in separate proceedings with knowingly giving false or misleading evidence to the NSW Crime Commission. The foster mother’s first court appearance in relation to those charges will occur next month.

At the end of last year, police conducted a new search for William Tyrrell in three areas surrounding Kendall.

Police clear scrub in December last year in a fresh search for the remains of William Tyrrell. Picture: Peter Lorimer/NCA NewsWire

It is understood police were searching for William’s remains in the belief he was placed in the bush rather than buried. Officers were reportedly told any potential remains of William would be in the dam or creek only if they had naturally moved from their original location over time.

Officers spent around a month searching bushland, dams as well as two water tanks at the house where William was last seen.

The matter will return to Parramatta District Court on May 13 to fix a trial date, which is expected to take two days.