New claim that William Tyrrell person of interest ‘took that little boy' 250km away from where he went missing

News.com.au

2 days ago

A second person has come forward alleging a 'person of interest' in the William Tyrrell investigation was identified by his own brother as being involved in the three-year-old's disappearance
The woman, Donna Bulley, said she reported this to police months after William was reported missing in September 2014, but it was not followed up by detectives.
The NSW Police Force has instead focused on William's foster mother in recent years but has not charged anyone over what took place and has been described in court as having 'no forensic evidence' and 'no eyewitness'.
The person of interest, Frank Abbott, is currently in prison for child sex offences against multiple victims. Detectives investigating William's disappearance did not focus on Abbott until around 2019, years after Ms Bulley attempted to tell police about him.
Recorded prison phone calls from November 2019 reveal police suggested Abbott 'borrowed somebody's car and went down, enticed [William] out with lollies and ice cream out of the yard'.
He has privately denied any involvement, however, and news.com.au is not suggesting the new allegations about his brother are true, just that they have been made and have not been followed up by police.
Abbott was also never questioned at the inquest investigating what happened to William, with the coroner ordering her decision on whether to do so cannot be made public.
Our investigative podcast Witness: William Tyrrell spoke to dozens of people about Abbott, including two men who now live in his old house in the town of Johns River, a short drive from Kendall, where William was last seen.
Last month, we revealed the older of these men said Abbott's late brother Jeffrey – also known as Bluey – 'always said, when the stories were going around with Tyrrell, that he didn't do it.
'[But] pretty close to when he died, Bluey said to my son, 'He did do it … and he's buried up on Big Bird Mountain there, where that big tree is '.
'No one ever checked that out.'
The man's son said he did not remember the conversation, saying instead that Jeffrey Abbott 'didn't … believe Frank had anything to do with it.
'But … I think he was under the belief that Frank needed the jail time,' he continued. 'He deserved to be in jail because of things he'd done in his past.'
The new alleged witness, Ms Bulley, came forward last week, after we reported this disputed claim.
Ms Bulley said she had been working in the Royal Hotel in Kew, a small town a few kilometres from where William was reported missing and where Abbott was often seen around the time.
A regular customer 'got talking a bit and he said, 'Have you seen that bloody Frank Abbott around love?', said Ms Bulley.
'And I went, 'Actually, now that you say that, no I haven't'. He went, 'No, that's because the bastard's in jail'.
'He said, 'His brother Bluey told me that he took that little boy to Tamworth the next day',' Ms Bulley continued. 'I rang the police and I told them what he said. They rang me back … and I missed the call and then I rang them back and left a message and nobody ever got back to me.'
Ms Bulley said this conversation took place in late 2014 or early 2015. Abbott was jailed over unrelated child sex charges in April 2015 – seven months after William was reported missing.
Her account does differ from that of the first person to allege Jeffrey Abbott claimed his brother was involved. That man claimed William was said to have been buried near a local landmark known as the Bird Tree, while Ms Bulley claimed William was said to have been taken to Tamworth.
Other evidence before the inquest alleges a close friend of Abbott called Ray Porter claimed to have given 'my best mate' and William Tyrrell a lift in his car, driving them 300 kilometres north.
Tamworth is about 250km northwest of Kendall. Other evidence heard at the inquest suggests Abbott did travel to Tamworth along with 'a little boy', although this was not confirmed.
Other evidence before the inquest also said Abbott repeatedly claimed to know where William was, suggesting various places linked to other potential suspects.
Mr Porter, as well as Abbott's brother Jeffrey, have died in the years since William's disappearance, while the age of the customer identified by Ms Pulley makes it possible he too has died.
The inquest into William's disappearance has been running for almost five years, with its findings still not expected for months. The police investigation has been running for over ten years, yet no one has been charged.
The NSW Police Force, Coroner's Court of NSW and Abbott have all declined to answer questions. Abbott has claimed in court that he is no longer a person of interest to the investigation but this has not been confirmed.