William Tyrrell inquiry: Neighbour gives evidence over drained pool

Man who lives oppos­ite the house from which William Tyrrell went missing gave contradictory testimony about his movements.

Witness Paul Savage arrives to give evidence at Taree Local Court in Taree today. Picture: Peter Lorimer/AAP

An elderly man who lives oppos­ite the house from which William Tyrrell went missing has given confusing and contradictory testi­mony to a NSW coroner about his movements on the day of the boy’s disappearance.

Paul Savage, who turned 75 on Tuesday, had previously told police he went looking for ­William in the bush after being alerted to the boy’s disappearance some time between 10.41am and 11am.

He said he spoke briefly to William’s foster grandmother, who lived in Benaroon Drive, Kendall, and then went up a nearby fire trail to see whether he could find “the little fella”.

Mr Savage told police he got back from his search about 11.45am to noon. He made himself a cup of tea, and stepped outside to find his brother-in-law, Greg Newton, and his wife, Regina, among the throng who had ­gathered on the street.

Mr Newton has previously told the court he didn’t arrive at Benaroon Drive until about 1.15pm, give or take 15 minutes.

Depending on who is right — and all the times are fuzzy — it could create a gap of about two hours (between chatting to the foster grandmother and meeting up with the Newtons) during which Mr Savage’s movements cannot be verified.

That would also be true of other people who searched alone. Mr Savage has never been named as a person of interest in William’s disappearance and there is no suggestion he is now.

His confusion as to his movements became apparent during the second day of his evidence. On Tuesday, at the inquest into William’s disappearance, Mr Savage said the foster grandmother had told him William went missing when his foster mother left him unattended in the garden while she went inside to make a cup of tea. He didn’t mention this detail in previous statements.

On Tuesday, he said he and his wife were expecting the Newtons to drop in that day but yesterday he said the visit was a surprise.

On Tuesday, he said he helped his wife, Heather, who has since died, clean up the kitchen after she pre-prepared a meal for the Newtons, but yesterday he said he wasn’t sure Heather knew the guests were coming either.

On Tuesday, he said he thought he saw the foster father’s new car in the driveway of the foster­ grandmother’s house on the Thursday before the Friday ­William disappeared, but he ­appeared to place it there before the foster parents arrived at 9pm. He thought he saw it before dark, before 6.30pm.

On Tuesday, Mr Savage said he spoke to his brother in the Casino­ hospital on the morning of William’s disappearance to make arrangements to pick him up when he was discharged that day. Casino is about four hours’ drive away. He had been planning to help his brother recuperate.

“And that was because he didn’t have anyone else to pick him up and take him home?” said counsel assisting the coroner, Gerard Craddock.

“That’s right, yes,” Mr Savage replied.

Yesterday, he said he failed to follow through on that plan ­because William’s disappearance had consumed his attention. He didn’t speak to his brother to let him know until after 4pm.

The court was shown video of a covered hole in the grounds of Mr Savage’s property that was describe­d as having once held a small pool. Mr Savage said the place where the pool had been had a dirt floor, and he’d covered it with parts of an old tin roof.

The significance of the structure has not been explained, and it may have none.

Mr Savage told the court he heard but did not see children visit­ing the Benaroon Drive house in Kendall on September 12, 2014, the day William went missing.

The inquest is continuing.