William Tyrrell's biological grandmother speaks out
William Tyrrell's biological grandmother has spoken out about the child's first disappearance, two years before he disappeared without a trace in 2014, and how she was the "mastermind" behind the plan.
Natalie Collins, whose three-year-old grandson was last seen alive on 12th September 2014, said she orchestrated for William to be hidden away when a court ordered William to be taken from his parent's custody.
“So I hid them,” Ms Collins told the second episode of news.com.au’s investigative podcast into William's disappearance.
“I hid them for three months after I knew (state government officials) were going to take William … I arranged it all.”
When asked if that made her the mastermind of William’s first disappearance, which caused police to set up a dedicated strike force to find him, Ms Collins said “Yeah, that’s right”.
“I should have taken him myself … Then no one would have been able to take him off me. That’s what I should have done,” she said.
The court order for William to be removed from his biological parents' care came in 2012, when he was jut seven months old.
The NSW government Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS) had raised concerns about domestic violence and substance abuse between William's parents Brendan Collins and Karlie Tyrrell, the court heard.
The court ordered for William to be taken by officials and placed into government care, but when the officers arrived to take William, he was gone.
A police strike force, codenamed Duncraig, was set up to find William, with officers making repeated visits to various addresses over the coming weeks, without success.
In 2012, William was ultimately found in the custody of Ms Collins and taken by authorities, who placed him with foster parents.
Ms Collins said the government made the wrong decision to re-home William in 2012, and their actions directly led to William's 2014 disappearance.
“These (FaCS) people didn’t do their job,” she said. “They failed to do their job properly."
“Because this shouldn’t happen these days with foster care children. What it’s done to my family from day one has stuffed all of us up,” she continued.
“I’ve got one son in rehab, I’ve got one in jail and my family has been stuffed up. I lost my son and I lost myself on the way.”
The podcast also spoke to one of the officials who was present when William was first taken from his biological family, as the man claimed he constantly wonders if he made the right decision about William's care.
“We take kids off … families all the time,” the man said, breaking down in tears. “You do it. It is part of the job.
“The thing I get upset about is … we took William off Karlie to protect him. I can still see myself walking into that bloody unit … And there was William, on the floor."
“And I just think … did we do the right thing? Would he still be alive? Maybe.”
Image credits: NSW Police