No sign of William Tyrrell’s remains have ever been found, coroner’s inquiry told

William Tyrrell’s Spider-Man suit would have taken hundreds of years to break down and no traces of the little boy were found during a painstaking forensic search three years ago, inquest hears.

William Tyrrell disappeared more than a decade ago. Picture: Supplied

William Tyrrell’s Spider-Man suit would have taken hundreds of years to break down and no traces of the little boy were found during a painstaking forensic search in NSW’s mid-North Coast three years ago.

The developments were revealed as a long-delayed inquest resumed on Monday, a final probe into the three-year-old’s disappearance from his foster grandmother’s Kendall home in September 2014.

The final and fifth block of the inquest’s hearings at the NSW State Coroner’s Court will centre on a police theory the three-year-old died after an accidental fall from the home’s veranda, which was covered up by his foster mother who then disposed of the body.

It’s an allegation that has been persistently and vehemently denied by the foster mother.

On the first day of the inquest’s resumption, the court heard that despite a renewed search around the woodland near the Benaroon Drive home formerly owned by William’s foster grandmother, no forensic evidence had been found.

“It’s beyond any argument now that William Tyrrell has not been found,” counsel assisting Gerard Craddock told the inquest, being presided over by Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame.

“It’s beyond argument that no forensic evidence has been located at 48 Benaroon Drive or anywhere else that provides a clue to William’s disappearance.”

The police’s theory prompted an “extremely thorough” forensic search around the crossroads of Batar Creek Rd, and Cobb and Co Rd in 2021, where officers and the Rural Fire Service cleared thick vegetation and sifted through leaf litter and soil.

Water science expert Professor Jon Olley was brought in by NSW Police as a consultant during that search and told the court on Monday that it was “extremely thorough” and that a polyester suit similar to the Spider-Man outfit William was wearing on the day he disappeared would have taken centuries to degrade.

“The estimate is hundreds of years,” Professor Olley said.

The court heard that no traces of William had ever been found although the 2021 search did uncover animal bones, while Professor Olley made inquiries with a Department of Primary Industries expert as to whether animals could have also potentially carried away any human remains or pieces of clothing.

A final block of hearings in December will conclude the inquest that began five years ago and the court was told that according to the police theory, after William’s accidental death, the foster mother then returned to her mother’s home at Benaroon Drive and phoned triple-0.

“The evidence in tranche five will look at that theory,” Mr Craddock said.

The court was told that police believed the foster mother “resolved” to dispose of William because she feared losing another foster child in her care.

Evidence from a truck driver driving in the vicinity of the area on the day of William’s disappearance, September 12, and the foster mother’s evidence to the NSW Crime Commission will also be played to the court. Mr Craddock, however, warned that theories remained theories, particularly given a lack of forensic evidence, noting that police previously believed washing machine repairman Bill Spedding was a person of interest, but who was cleared of having any involvement.

“A police officer’s belief may be right or wrong … a coroner can’t act on the express belief of a police investigator,” Mr Craddock said.

The inquest ran for 18 months before it was adjourned in October 2020 with Ms Grahame’s findings initially due to be handed down in June 2021.

Before her findings could be made public, however, police began investigating what is now the accidental fall theory.

In 2023, police handed a brief of evidence to the Director of Public Prosecutions seeking advice on whether William’s foster mother could be charged with perverting the course of justice and interfering with a corpse, but later suspended that request until the conclusion of the inquest.

William’s foster mother maintains she had nothing to do with the three-year-old boy’s disappearance and, in 2022, was found not guilty of lying to the NSW Crime Commission at the state’s local court.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: NEWSWIRE