A new image created by a high tech US crime lab could help unlock one of Australia’s most haunting mysteries 10 years after William Tyrrell vanished without a trace. There have been no confirmed sightings of the three-year-old toddler since he disappeared from his foster grandmother’s home in Kendall on the NSW mid north coast on September 12, 2014.
World leading forensic imaging experts for US forensic facility Parabon Nano Labs has created and released a computer-generated image of what William would look like today at age 13. University of Newcastle Associate Professor in Criminology Dr Xanthé Mallett praised the aging progression on the image as expertly done.
‘These forensic medical artists can actually give us a likeness, give us a prediction of what somebody may have looked like using images of that person at different ages,’ she said. ‘He (William) would be going into puberty at this stage, so he would be having a lot of changes, especially in the lower half of his face, because he would be taking on a more adult appearance as his adult teeth come through.’
It’s hoped that the image might prompt someone with information about what happened to William to come forward and help solve one of the nation’s most enduring mysteries. ‘There is always the chance that he is alive, however, that does seem unlikely,’ Assoc Prof Mallett said.
On the 10th anniversary of the toddler’s appearance, NSW Police issued a brief statement that did not promise any renewed attempt to find William, who is believed to have died. NSW Premier Chris Minns stressed that there’s a $1 million reward for anyone who can provide information leading to William being found.
Despite police being called within an hour of William going missing and a decade-long investigation involving hundreds of persons of interest and dozens of searches, no trace of the boy last seen wearing a Spider-Man suit has been found. In March 2019, a coronial inquest looked into the multi-million dollar search. However, the inquest has been put on hold until the end of the year and no findings have been handed down.
Former detective Gary Jubelin, who led the search for William for four years, remains haunted by the case. Mr Jubelin was stood down from the case after being found guilty of illegally recording a suspect in 2020. He believes there needs to be a broader review of how the investigation was conducted.
Associate Professor Mallett said some lessons were learned from how police conducted the case, which were applied to successfully rescue abducted four-year-old Cleo Smith in Western Australia in 2019. ‘We learned about locking the scene down very quickly,’ she said. ‘We learned about when to offer a reward, and I do think that the WA Police made sure that those same mistakes weren’t made.’
During a recent directions hearing at the NSW Coroner’s Court, it was confirmed that the final block of hearings for the inquest into William’s disappearance and the police investigation will be held in the weeks starting November 4 and December 16.