NSW Coroner will consider new evidence if provided by detectives, following news.com.au investigation
The coroner investigating William Tyrrell's disappearance will consider new evidence if provided by detectives, following a series of explosive reports by news.com.au.
If police fail to investigate 'relevant information', a senior lawyer involved in the inquest said a complaint could be made to the NSW Police Force Commissioner or the watchdog dealing with police misconduct.
William's foster mother 'will be considering' such a complaint, according to her lawyer, Sharon Ramsden.
Doing so could trigger an inquiry into the police investigation of the three-year-old's disappearance, which has gone on for more than a decade without success.
A former official involved in William's care confirmed they are also considering a formal complaint about police, saying they are 'disturbed by the information that has come forward'.
This includes revelations from that:
– Two people claimed the brother of a convicted child abuser said he was involved in what happened to William,
– This man, a former 'person of interest' in the William Tyrrell investigation, gave a detailed account of what he claimed happened to William to another prisoner,
– The same man, Frank Abbott, is linked to the victims of three other unsolved murders, according to evidence tendered to the inquest.
We are not suggesting that these allegations are true, just that they have been made and have not been adequately followed up by NSW Police.
Asked if the coroner would consider this new evidence, a senior lawyer involved in the inquest said it could effectively reopen to do so.
'Although evidence in this inquest is formally closed, the Coroner will consider all relevant evidence provided by NSW Police,' said the Department of Communities and Justice's principal solicitor for inquests, Katie Llewelyn.
'If NSW Police are not investigating relevant information,' Ms Llewelyn suggested 'a complaint can be made to the Commissioner of Police or failing that, to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.'
A spokeswoman for NSW Police, Erin Bouda, said 'details [of the new evidence] remain unclear' and 'its relevance to the case cannot be determined' but said Abbott 'has been thoroughly investigated.
'All relevant evidence has been submitted to the coroner,' Ms Bouda continued. She did not respond to an offer from news.com.au to provide further details of the new allegations and witnesses.
William was reported missing on 12 September 2014 from a family home on the NSW Mid North Coast.
The subsequent police investigation has since outlasted three NSW Police Force Commissioners, with the current incumbent, Karen Webb, due to retire within months.
The police Homicide Squad is also onto its third commander in that time, with no charges laid over what happened to William.
In recent years, William's foster mother has been publicly described by police and media as the 'chief suspect', despite repeatedly denying any involvement and calling on police to do more to investigate the case.
She and her husband, who cannot be named, were convicted of a range of unrelated offences only for almost all of these to be overturned on appeal.
The foster mother's lawyer, Ms Ramsden, said 'we will be considering' a formal complaint about police conduct, although she is 'not in a position to comment further' until the inquest is complete.
The former official involved in William's care said they were worried about the police's continued focus on the foster mother 'despite the absence of any evidence'.
This official, who asked not to be named, said they had been told by detectives it was not necessary to investigate other potential persons of interest 'as police felt they had … the answer'.
The inquest has previously heard it is 'beyond argument' police have no forensic or eyewitness evidence of what happened to William. A recent witness statement provided by the lead detective David Laidlaw was heavily redacted by the court, with the senior lawyer assisting the coroner saying it reflected 'one person's opinions'.
Frank Abbott declined to answer questions.
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