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The William Tyrrell investigation has dragged on for so long because it was “largely crammed” by political pressures turning it into a witch hunt, criminologist claims
- Criminology expert says police investigation William Tyrrell ‘was full’
- dr. Michael Kennedy said the pressure to get a result eroded due process
- Comments follow how foster mother is acquitted of involvement in secret hearing
- William went missing from his foster mother’s home in 2014 at the age of three
The investigation into the missing boy William Tyrrell has largely been ‘completed’ by the police, an expert criminologist has claimed.
University of New England associate professor Michael Kennedy said the case had been chaotic because of political pressure police undertook to find the missing three-year-old.
William disappeared from his foster grandmother’s home in Kendall, on the north coast of NSW, on September 12, 2014, and has not been seen since.
William’s foster mother was found not guilty of knowingly giving false or misleading evidence during a classified NSW Crime Commission hearing on Friday.
Three-year-old William Tyrrell (pictured) went missing on the NSW Mid North Coast in 2014
Police stated they believed William’s foster mother knew where the body was buried (pictured a police investigation in November 2021)
dr. Kennedy, an expert criminologist turned police officer, said this added drama surrounding the long-running but fruitless investigation.
“Great things have happened and the police are expected to get results that are not possible,” he told the… Daily Telegram.
“We have to go back to a time when the police were in control of their own investigation and you couldn’t pressure them to get results because it worked politically.
“If that means leaving a case unsolved, then so be it, the end justifies the means.
“This isn’t just about protecting a victim, it’s about protecting everyone. And everyone deserves the presumption of innocence.’
Former NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller stated in November that the police had a certain ‘stakeholder’ in the case
The woman, who cannot be identified, was almost overcome with tears when she told the media she hoped police would “focus on finding William and what happened to him.”
Senior Detective Andrew Lonergan had told the court that police believed the foster mother knew where the body was buried.
The area, near the town of Kendell on the NSW Mid North Coast, has been searched by police and volunteers without finding anything of relevance.
Police have said since November 2021 that there was “one person in particular that we are keeping a close eye on”, which was revealed by former NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller during a radio interview.
William’s disappearance has become one of Australia’s most publicized mysteries during the eight-year quest
William’s foster mother has not been charged with the boy’s disappearance and no evidence of her involvement has been made public.
Kennedy said the NSW Crime Commission had to explain its role in the case because due process had been eroded “to get an outcome” in the much-discussed case.
“It has to explain itself and who agreed to this course of action, but that will never happen,” he said.
“Instead of attacking an individual buyer, why don’t we attack the system and say this is common across the board, this eroding fair trial.”
Police declined to comment on the hearing or on the state of their investigation, except that “everything was done” to resolve the matter.
University of New England associate professor Michael Kennedy accused police of ‘hollowing out’ due process in attempt to get a solution to the case