Phone taps key for Tyrrell foster parents’ appeal against intimidation convictions

Lengthy recordings of phone taps will be played to the court as William Tyrrell’s foster parents appeal their convictions for intimidating a child who is not William, a court heard.

William’s foster mother and foster father were sentenced to a 12-month good behaviour bond in March for intimidating another foster child in their custody.

The court heard the 57-year-old foster father had sworn and shouted at the child, causing the child to cry while on the way to school.

The foster father could be heard in covert police recordings telling the child “every f**king day” and later demanding he “move, f**king, move”.

The 58-year-old foster mother was sentenced for kicking the child, hitting them with a wooden spoon, and threatening to slap them during heated arguments.

She was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order, while her partner was ordered to serve a 12-month good behaviour bond.

The child was not William, who hasn’t been seen since 2014 when he vanished as a three-year-old while staying at his foster grandmother’s home at Kendall on the NSW Mid-North Coast.

In June, the foster parents lodged an appeal against their convictions and the severity of their sentences.

On Tuesday, a lawyer for both parents fronted the NSW District Court to set a date for the appeal hearings.

She explained the foster mother’s appeal hearing would take two days, as there are a number of issues to be raised.

The crown prosecutor said the hearing would also require “lengthy telephone intercepts to be played” to the court.

The foster parents were charged with intimidation after police placed surveillance devices in their home and car as part of their investigation into William’s disappearance.

The devices secretly recorded 1000 hours of audio across 14 months, some of which formed the basis for the charges against the foster parents.

No one has ever been charged over William’s disappearance and the foster parents have continued to deny any knowledge or involvement.

Judge Christopher O’Brien set the foster mother’s appeal hearing down for April 7, 2025.

By contrast, the court heard the foster father’s appeal hearing would only take half a day.

“It’s our preference they be heard separately,” Ms MacDougall told the court.

She noted the foster father would be unavailable on a proposed date in December because he is involved in an inquest into the disappearance of his foster son William Tyrrell.

Judge O’Brien set the foster father’s appeal hearing for February 10, 2025.