A NSW inquiry will examine evidence into the suspected death of missing three-year-old William Tyrrell.
The toddler disappeared a decade ago from his foster grandmother’s home on the NSW Mid-North Coast.
Prosecutors will revisit a police theory that alleges Tyrrell’s foster mother disposed of his body after he died in an accidental fall.
No charges have ever been laid against Tyrrell’s foster mother, who continues to maintain she is innocent.
The hearings resume an adjourned inquest that began five years ago.
Disappearance
On the morning of 12 September 2014, then three-year-old William Tyrrell disappeared while playing outside in his foster grandmother’s yard.
Police were alerted after receiving a call from his foster mother later that day.
The toddler was last seen wearing a polyester Spider-Man costume, and no trace of his body has ever been found.
William Tyrrell would be 13 years old today.
The search
The search for William Tyrrell is one of the largest-ever investigations conducted in NSW.
Police initially suspected the toddler had been kidnapped.
During the first two years of their investigations, NSW Police received almost 3,000 ‘tip-off’ calls to their Crime Stoppers unit
During that time, more than 1,000 alleged sightings were reported.
Hundreds of cars and locations have been searched, and police have interviewed several people of interest.
In recent years, police investigations shifted focus from Tyrrell’s suspected kidnapping to his suspected death.
In 2016, NSW Police announced a $1 million reward for information on the case. This reward still stands.
No charges have ever been laid.
Earlier inquiry
An inquest into William Tyrrell’s disappearance began in 2019 and explored a theory that he was “likely taken” from his foster grandmother’s home in NSW.
The inquest examined evidence of a suspected kidnapping for 18 months before being paused in October 2020.
The court had been expected to deliver its findings in 2021. However, proceedings were postponed as police conducted new searches and lines of inquiry.
Inquest
This week’s inquest is examining a police theory that Tyrrell may have died after falling in an accident at his foster grandmother’s house.
The inquiry will explore if Tyrrell’s foster mother buried the toddler in nearby bushland before alerting police to his disappearance.
Gerard Craddock, Barrister assisting the Coroner, said NSW Police are considering the idea that the woman may have been scared she’d lose custody of another child in her care, “if the accidental death were to be discovered”.
In opening statements, Craddock said: “Police assert that in that frame of mind she placed William in her mother’s car… drove the mother’s car down to Batar Creek Road and placed William’s body somewhere in undergrowth,” and then returned home and called police.
With little forensic evidence and eyewitnesses, Craddock noted, “the coroner can’t act on the express belief of a police investigator,” but is obliged to explore and consider all evidence.
Tyrrell’s foster mother has always asserted her innocence. Inquiries are continuing.
