Latest news with #LongBayPrison
News.com.au
2 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
‘Knows too much': Inmate of William Tyrrell person of interest reveals bombshell claims
A 'person of interest' in the William Tyrrell investigation gave a detailed account of the three-year-old's death to another prisoner, who says he tried to tell police but has 'just been brushed to the side'. Simon Sutherland shared an accommodation block with the person of interest, Frank Abbott, in Sydney's Long Bay prison between late March and early April this year. 'He just starts talking about it, like it's nothing,' Sutherland said. 'Like, 'Hey, you know about that William Tyrrell? … I'll tell you the truth'.' The details of Abbott's alleged account are disturbing and unproven, although several parts seem to refer to people, places or things heard in evidence before an inquest investigating William's disappearance. Sutherland said Abbott claimed William was abducted, kept in a wood yard and that his death was an accident, after which the three-year-old's body was disposed of in a suitcase. 'He tells the same story, apparently, to everybody. Like he just starts saying 'Oh, I was the main suspect in the William Tyrrell investigation,' Sutherland continued. 'It's his 15 minutes of fame.' Abbott, himself a convicted child abuser, insisted that he was not responsible for what happened, Sutherland said, 'but when he is telling you, he knows more. It's just he knows too much.' Sutherland, who was in prison for a stalk/intimidate offence before his release in April, said he is speaking out after attempting to report what Abbott told him to police, including in a phone call with the lead detective on the case, David Laidlaw. Sutherland said Detective Chief Inspector Laidlaw told him he was busy, that police continued to believe William's foster mother was involved in the three-year-old's disappearance and he would follow up by phone or email – but this never happened. He also said Abbott described sitting in a four-wheel-drive or station wagon 'in a cul-de-sac (with) a walking trail at the end'. That car had 'all the windows fogged up and somebody went past him and … he thought he was caught out then.' The description of a cul-de-sac with a walking trail at the end matches that of Benaroon Drive, where William was reported missing on 12 September 2014. William's foster mother has previously given evidence saying she saw a white station wagon outside the house where they were staying that morning and a separate witness has told us she saw a station wagon with fogged up windows on the road that day. Police and the inquest investigating William's disappearance have found no evidence Abbott was on Benaroon Drive the day he was reported missing. We are not saying these new allegations are true, just that they have been made and not been followed up by police. William's foster mother, who has been publicly identified by police and media as the 'chief suspect' has not been charged in relation to his suspected death and has repeatedly denied any involvement. DCI Laidlaw's final witness statement to the inquest was heavily redacted with the senior lawyer saying it reflected 'one person's opinions' and that police had found no forensic or eyewitness evidence of what happened to William. Abbott does identify two men as being allegedly involved in William's disappearance, according to Sutherland, although we are not naming them as there is no evidence to support this. Evidence before the inquest shows Abbott has a history of suggesting other people may have been involved in what happened. There are also other unsubstantiated claims in Abbott's version, according to Sutherland, including that he drove to a nearby airport to pick up a green car soon after William went missing. Abbott also claimed to have been in a different town on the day itself 'to go to this guy's house to check his mail', said Sutherland. This contrasts an account given by Abbott on recorded prison phone calls, tendered to the inquest, where he claimed a bank transaction proved he was somewhere else at the time. Witness: William Tyrrell. 'Like I explained to the copper, I said 'Look mate, if it was a drug dealer on drug dealer (murder), I wouldn't give two sh*ts'. I said, 'It's a little boy. … It's a different story when it's a bloody kid.' The NSW Police Force and Abbott have declined to answer questions.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
NSW Premier Chris Minns rejects proposal to redevelop Sydney's Long Bay prison into housing
NSW Premier Chris Minns has rebuked a proposal to close Sydney's Long Bay prison and to instead use the site for housing following the failed Rosehill racecourse purchase. Former Liberal minister David Elliott suggested closing the Matraville prison and hospital on Monday and instead using the 45ha of land for a new housing development. It comes after the Australian Turf Club shot down a $5bn proposal by the government to redevelop the historic Rosehill racecourse into 25,000 homes and a Metro stop. Asked about the Long Bay site, Mr Minns told reporters on Monday that he was 'grateful that different ideas for housing are coming up' but voiced concerns about transport. 'The real challenge with Long Bay jail is the public transport … the closest heavy rail station from Maroubra is Central Station – it's a long way' Mr Minns said. 'If we're going to have a dramatic or massive increase in population, we have to take that into consideration.' Mr Elliott suggested closing the prison and relocating it to regional NSW in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. The former minister said he had pushed for the plan almost 10 years ago while serving as prisons minister, but it had faced resistance. 'For the life of me I don't understand why we've still got Long Bay jail,' Mr Elliott said. 'This is not a modern prison. It was designed along Victorian-era prison principles. All the rehabilitation programs and facilities are last century. 'You could sell that and build a new state-of-the-art, fit-for-purpose correctional facility in the outer suburbs or regional NSW where you'd get so much more bang for buck.' Mr Elliott said the Long Bay site could provide 'a magnificent place to live' for people working in the CBD and floated extended the existing city to southeast light rail. The state government's long-term plan for housing in Sydney was back under the spotlight last week when the ATC voted down the 'once-in-a-generation' plan. ATC leadership had supported the buyout, which chairman Peter McGauran said would have provided fiscal security for the club for the next '100 years'. The project would have involved 25,000 new homes and a Metro West station but faced pushback from stalwarts of the horse racing community. Mr Minns has, so far, failed to outline his 'Plan B' but revealed on Friday that the state government was discussing 'contingency' plans. 'I'm very disappointed by the Rosehill decision, but I don't regard it as a waste of time,' Mr Minns said. 'I think it's really changed the nature of the discussion about where people will be living in Sydney.'
