No charges are likely to be laid over the disappearance of William Tyrrell until after an inquest into the toddler's death, again putting the long-running case on hold nearly a decade after he went missing.
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A review into evidence that the three-year-old's foster mother might have been involved in his disappearance has been suspended after a police request to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions.
Investigators had provided a brief for prosecutors to consider potential charges against the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who they believed might have disposed of William's body after his accidental death.
The foster mother has always denied having anything to do with William's disappearance.
The boy went missing while playing at his foster grandmother's home in Kendall, on the NSW mid-north coast, on September 12, 2014.
Despite police being called within the hour 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.
A spokeswoman for the director on Tuesday said the NSW Police Force had asked the prosecutor's office to "suspend its consideration of their request for advice in this matter" until after scheduled inquest hearings in November and December.
The inquest into William's disappearance began in March 2019, but was adjourned in October 2020.
A directions hearing for the inquest in February heard the coroner was waiting for an update on the police brief provided to the state's top prosecutor before the inquest re-started.
The brief was handed over in August for advice on the reasonable prospects of achieving a conviction.
The coroner was due to hand down her long-awaited findings in June 2021, but that date was pushed back to allow various parties' lawyers more time to file submissions.
In November that year, police launched a fresh, month-long search for William's remains that concluded without any obvious breakthroughs.
No one has been charged in the case and a $1 million reward for information still stands.
Australian Associated Press
