William Tyrell’s foster father allegedly grabbed the neck of an 11-year-old girl during a dispute, a support person testified in court.
During a cross-examination at Parramatta local court on Thursday afternoon, it was revealed that the girl, known as LT, told the support officer that her foster father, known as JS, 56, had “mental health problems” at the time of the alleged assault. raid.
She told the court that LT “sobbed” as she recounted the incident.
The new details were revealed after the court heard LT’s pre-recorded testimony in a closed session.
The foster parents of the missing toddler must appear in court to respond to a range of allegations related to LT, including charges of assault and stalking or harassment.
The revelation followed three dramatic days in which William Tyrell’s former foster mother, known as SD, 58, collapsed multiple times as a police prosecutor played classified audio recordings of alleged assaults on LT.
A supporter told Parramatta local court on Thursday that William Tyrrell’s foster father (right) allegedly put his hands around the neck of an 11-year-old girl during a dispute
The foster mother of William Tyrrell (center) – who cannot be identified for legal reasons but is known in court as SD – broke down several times as dozens of classified audio recordings were played
During cross-examination by the prosecution, the counselor recounted what LT had told her in December 2022 during a break in a police questioning with the girl.
“We were in a room and LT was pretty upset and she was sobbing,” the witness said.
She then turned to me and said, “My dad put his hands around my neck. He has mental health issues.”
The support worker said she didn’t tell the police right away because she “didn’t want to betray the trust,” but she did tell the officers right after the meeting ended.
During cross-examination by the foster father’s attorney, Phillip English, the support officer clarified that she had accurately remembered what LT said.
Instead of putting his hands around her neck, Mr English asked if the girl had instead described her foster father using an open palm to apply force to her shoulder.
“No, she didn’t,” said the aid worker.
“She said exactly what I said in my statement.”
On Wednesday, an audio recording was played in court in which it was heard that SD allegedly kicked LT during an argument over household chores on October 20, 2021.
In the recording, SD can be heard talking about what the family has been through since William went missing, and the ongoing mystery of what has become of him.
“You don’t know about the things we’ve had to do, you don’t know about the things that are going on right now,” the foster mom told the girl after allegedly kicking her around 7:45 a.m.
After the incident, the 11-year-old tells the foster father ‘she kicked me’, saying it was because the girl had threatened to kick another child.
The foster mother interrupts him and says: ‘Just be quiet for a moment and sit down, then you will know how it feels’.
The girl then says to SD, “You’re a bad mother.”
The kick was revisited on Thursday when former Salvation Army captain and family friend Michelle White told the court that the SD had confided in her after the alleged assault.
Ms White described the foster mother as ‘future’ and acknowledged that she did ‘sometimes’ has not lived up to her own expectations of motherhood.
According to the statement Mrs White gave to police after the kick, the foster mother said she did “ashamed” of what she had done and admitted that she had “lost it” at the time.
Mrs White then asked if the stairs had left any visible mark and the foster mother said it had not.
A separate incident between the foster mother and child involved a wooden spoon, which was recorded and played in court on Tuesday.
On the disturbing audio tape, the foster mother can be heard telling the girl to go get the wooden spoon, followed by the sound of the girl being beaten.
The girl then repeatedly whimpers “help me” before SD tells the girl to “shut up.”
In a subsequent recorded telephone conversation, the foster mother tells the foster father that they had a problem because the abuse had ‘left a mark’.
The foster parents cried during the playback of the recording, which stemmed from a late night confrontation after they took some of the child’s clothes and toys.
The assault, to which the foster mother pleaded guilty, took place on January 26, 2021.
William Tyrrell’s foster parents leave Parramatta local court on Wednesday
The foster parents of missing toddler William Tyrrell (above) are accused of assaulting, stalking and harassing a 2021 primary school-aged schoolgirl in a series of incidents between January and August
The foster mother, 58, who pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting the 11-year-old, allegedly hit her the girl during one of several disciplinary sessions after the child called her a f***ing b***h ‘ had mentioned. ‘.
Police allege the foster mother threatened the girl, while William’s 56-year-old foster father allegedly “grabbed” the girl by the neck and “physically restrained her from sitting back down” in the kitchen of a suburban home.
After the two guilty verdicts, the foster mother failed in her lawyer’s attempt to keep the five-day trial secret and closed to the public and media.
While pleading guilty to two counts of assault, the foster mother insists she is not guilty of stalking the girl and has pleaded not guilty to two counts of harassment against the same young child.
The foster father has pleaded not guilty to one charge of common assault, stalking and harassment.
But Magistrate Susan McIntyre said she was willing to allow evidence on the stalking and harassment charges.
Her Honor has denied a request to have the Prosecutor’s Tendency Evidence thrown out, arguing that it has “evidence value” in pointing to the foster mother’s guilt.
“The cumulative effect of all these incidents shows that[the foster mother]knew her behavior was likely to cause anxiety, but continued anyway.”
SD and her husband JS were charged with common assault against the girl in late 2021, when police launched a new search in the bushland near the NSW Mid North Coast town of Kendall for the remains of William Tyrrell.
They have also filed guilty pleas against charges of using a bogus bidder to raise the sale price of their former ‘forever home’ for missing William on Sydney’s North Shore at a 2020 auction.
The charges have been relegated to regulatory offenses under the Property and Stock Agents Act and the pair will be convicted and fined this week.
William disappeared in September 2014 aged three in the NSW Mid North Coast town of Kendall and no trace of the toddler has ever been found.
No one has ever been charged with his disappearance.
In late 2021, another search was conducted in bushland within 700 meters of the Kendall home where William was last seen, but no items of significance have been identified.
The foster mother (above in Kendall after William disappeared) appears before the local Parramatta court on charges of assault and stalking a child