THE TRUTH AT LAST?

Nine years after the three-year-old’s disappearance, there’s been a shocking new development

Aneighbour who was moments away from the location where police now believe little William Tyrrell died has told Woman’s Day she is “heartbroken” to learn of the new allegations in the nineyear-long case.

Last week, it was revealed police were recommending William’s foster mother, who cannot be named, be criminally charged.

“When the news broke the other night, I felt heartbroken because if this is true the impact it will have on the Kendall community will be enormous,” says Lydene Heslop, who also gave evidence at the inquest into William’s disappearance. “For years, for those involved, this has had a massive impact on families’ lives and emotions, so to hear this was upsetting. We all just want answers.”

COVERED UP

Lydene now hopes that after almost a decade of police investigations, false leads and many searches in her hometown, the three-yearold will finally be able to rest in peace.

“I hope there is closure soon for this little boy, his family and us as a community,” she says.

A brief of evidence has been handed to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). It reportedly alleges the foster mother covered up what investigators believe was likely William’s accidental death in 2014.

Detectives believe they have enough evidence for the DPP to charge her with perverting the course of justice and interfering with a corpse.

But at the time of going to press, no decisions or moves in response had been made by the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions.

After spending years working on the assumption that William was abducted, in

the past few years police have redirected their investigation. It’s thought they now believe the toddler died after accidentally falling from a balcony at his foster grandmother’s home and that his body was dumped near a riding school a short drive away.

Less than 24 hours after this news broke, the foster mother’s lawyer Sharon Ramsden stated unequivocally that her client “has nothing to do with William’s disappearance”.

The Sydney-based criminal lawyer demanded investigators disclose the evidence they have and added a personal plea from the foster mum, who “desperately urges the police to resume the investigation into finding out what happened to William”.

‘I hope there is closure soon for this little boy and his family’

This comes two and a half years after detectives completed another search around William’s now-deceased foster grandmother’s Kendall, NSW, home.

At the time they admitted they were searching for his body, and William’s foster parents were reported to be persons of interest in the case.

In November 2021, the foster mother was questioned during two days of secret hearings by the NSW Crime Commission.

Over the past year William’s foster mother has been under increasing scrutiny, leading to her being charged with a range of unrelated offences. These included providing false and misleading information to the NSW Crime Commission and assaulting a child, who was not William.

The foster mother was found not guilty of lying while other charges are still pending court hearings.

The solicitor representing washing machine repairman Bill Spedding, who was an early high-profile person of interest in the case, tells Woman’s Day he believes the police investigation remains “fundamentally flawed”.

“The fact that police – who are the usual authority in the charging process – have not arrested nor charged the foster mum in relation to Tyrrell’s disappearance is very telling,” says Peter O’brien.

Bill, who was categorically cleared of any involvement in William’s disappearance, received almost $1.5 million in damages last November after police pursued him for made-up historical sexual abuse claims. The State of NSW is now attempting to overturn the judgement.

‘The investigation from the outset was flawed’

“The problem with the police investigation from the outset was that it was fundamentally flawed. The leading investigators failed to keep an open mind.”

HIGH STAKES

Former police detective and criminologist Dr Michael Kennedy believes the DPP will be in no rush to lay charges.

“It’s not a bad thing, there’s a lot at stake,” he tells Woman’s Day. “I’ve been told they referred it about a month ago. [Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent] Danny Doherty is an old-school detective and he would realise this has the potential to implode so he’d want to do everything properly.”

Michael believes it’s possible someone close to the foster family could have prompted this latest twist in the case.

“[Perhaps] there’s been enormous family pressure and someone within the family who knows something has just got sick of it all and said, ‘This has to all come to an end.’”