William Tyrell: Foster mother issues statement and says police have ‘done nothing’ for years to solve case

One of the main police suspects in the investigation into the disappearance of William Tyrell has spoken out for the first time in years and accused police of persecution and a lack of urgency to solve the case that has gripped Australia since 2014.

Speaking out on a podcast, William Tyrell’s foster mother, who cannot be identified, levelled claims at NSW police detectives saying they have been focused on her and not the person, or persons responsible for William’s disappearance.

The woman claimed police had “done nothing” to find the missing boy for five years and the case may have been solved by now if they had not been focused on “persecuting” her.

William Tyrell disappeared from his home in the town of Kendall on September 12, 2014, has captivated the nation as the story has ebbed and flowed around many suspects with investigators still no closer to revealing what happened to the toddler.

The woman told the news.com.au podcast Witness: William Tyrrell that police had “gone to great lengths to blacken my character in the media.”

“I believe that if the police had properly investigated this case, instead of persecuting me, they may well have found the person responsible for William’s disappearance.”

The foster mother said she believes the three-year-old was taken from her mother’s yard and that she has “no idea who took William, or what happened to him”.

“For the past five years, the police have done nothing to try to discover who took William, and what has happened to him.

“Instead, they have concentrated all their efforts on trying to build a case that I was in some way to blame for his death and the disposal of his precious little body.

“They have gone to great lengths to blacken my character in the media.”

Strike force Rosann – the team established to resolve William’s disappearance – is being led by Detective Chief Inspector David Laidlaw, who took over the case from former homicide detective Gary Jubelin in 2019.

Police have revealed they believe William may have died by misadventure, and that his foster mother disposed of his body.

The foster mother went on to say in a statement that she loved William “as much as any mother could love her child … if not more”.

“It did not matter one bit that he was not connected to us biologically. William made my life complete; I loved him fiercely. I just loved being his ‘mummy’.”

“Never for a moment did I regret becoming a foster mother”, she said, adding the family was “and still are … connected as one”.

“It’s challenging to have hope and build plans for the future when our hearts remain shattered and in pieces,” she said.

“All I can hope for is that some person who knows something comes forward.”