A man formerly considered a âperson of interestâ in the enduring mystery of missing three-year-old William Tyrrell had a shrine-like collage of media images from the case at the foot of his bed, a podcast has revealed.
The unnamed man, who lives a few hundred metres from where Willman went missing at his foster grandmotherâs home in Kendall on the NSW Mid North Coast, also displayed handwritten poetry and a quote from lead detective Gary Jubelin.
Mr Jubelin, who placed the man under surveillance and had his property searched, was quoted as saying the investigation would leave âno stone unturnedâ.
The man, who police ceased investigating in 2019, has spoken to podcast Witness: William Tyrrell, which is produced by News Ltd following the 10th anniversary of the toddlerâs disappearance on September 12, 2014.
A police search of the manâs bushland property two days after Williamâs disappearance uncovered small bones in barrels, but they were later determined to be from animals.
The man at first denied they were there but later claimed they were planted by police.
He told the podcast that his off-the-grid lifestyle and rejection of the mainstream had made him a police target.
âWhat I donât like is the way people who are slightly different are singled out here,â he said.

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William Tyrrell, aged three, at his foster grandmotherâs home in Kendall on the NSW Mid North Coast in September 2014
âThey get harassed, they get persecuted because theyâre odd. I donât like the way people are presumed guilty until proven innocent.
âIt could have been someone who was driving past (who was responsible for Williamâs disappearance). Thatâs as likely as anything else isnât it?â
Mr Jubelin, who was taken off the investigation in 2019 and later convicted for illicitly recording conversations with a different person of interest, told the NSWâs director of inquests in 2020 the man should be called as a witness for an ongoing inquest.
The inquest before Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame has declined to call the man as a witness despite Mr Jubelin describing his behaviour as âconcerningâ.
This included an allegation the man put a basketball down his pants near school kids and that he turned up at Port Macquarie Police Station demanding to speak to Mr Jubelin.
On another occasion he allegedly went to the same police station and put âhis hands across the service counter and motioning (sic) for himself to be handcuffed and arrested for Williamâs disappearanceâ.

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Former lead investigator Gary Jubelin has urged an inquest to call up a former âperson of interestâ who lived in bushland only a few hundred metres from where William went missing
Mr Jubelin said the man âprovided what I would consider exculpatory explanationsâ for these alleged incidents.
The man told the podcast a detective previously and falsely accused him of being involved in Williamâs disappearance.
âAdmit it, mate, you took the bastard didnât you?â the man said an unnamed detective asked him.
The man said his response was: âYouâre kidding arenât you?â
He said the culprit would have to have known that William was at his foster grandmotherâs and accused NSW Police of âbunglingâ the investigation saying they had little cohesion or organisation.
The man, who was nicknamed âGorillas in the Mistâ by NSW Police for his unconventional lifestyle, also claimed Mr Jubelin made up ânonsense storiesâ about William, including that he âhad a heart attack and they dumped him in the bushâ.
Last year the inquest into Williamâs disappearance and suspected death was delayed as prosecutors weighed up charges against the boyâs foster mother.
Police began investigating a theory that William had died in an accidental fall from a balcony and the foster mother had disposed of the body.

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Police are seen supervising the clearing of bushland in the nearby town of Kendall in a 2021 search for William
Williamâs foster mother and father have continuously denied the allegation and any wrongdoing.
The inquest is now scheduled to resume with another block of hearings later this year.
During a directions hearing at the NSW Coronerâs Court at Lidcombe on Tuesday, Ms Grahame confirmed the dates for the final block of hearings â in the weeks starting November 4 and December 16.
The Coroner will hand down her findings at a later date.


