Sinister twist as sharp-eyed truckie reveals the suspicious sight he spotted when William Tyrrell vanished

A truck driver has told the William Tyrrell inquest that he saw a woman acting suspiciously near where the toddler disappeared on the morning he vanished.

Peter Bashkurt was picking up an excavator from Batar Creek Road, a few hundred metres from the house in the NSW mid-north coast town of Kendall where the three-year-old boy was last seen.

Appearing via audio visual link at the inquest in Sydney, Mr Bashkurt said he had called Radio 2GB and the police after William was reported missing from his foster grandmothers home at 48 Benaroon Drive, Kendall.

Asked where he had seen the car you considered acting suspiciously and driven by a woman, Mr Bashkurt said he saw it twice, in Kendall and nearby Kew.

He described a black Toyota Camry driven by an overweight blonde woman.

But the reported police theory for Williams disappearance is that his foster mother allegedly drove her mothers grey Mazda 3 to dispose of the boys body that day.

Mr Bashkurt told police that he had seen the black Toyota parked across the road from him at an old bus stop and that she had unnecessarily crossed the road in her car and parked too closely in front of him.

I don’t know what triggered her to move from the location she was at. She didn’t need to come and park in front of me, he said, 

Something must have triggered her to do that. I actually pulled out from behind her, because she was so close, I had to back up a bit. That was a bit odd for me. 

Williams foster mother (centre, maroon jacket) was seen throwing an object from her mothers car which she drove on the morning the toddler disappeared in 2014

Police seized the car driven by the foster mother on the morning that William vanished in September 2014, but the grey Mazda 3 (above) does not resemble the vehicles sighted by the truck driver in the street on that morning

When he saw the car again in Kendall he saw a blonde, overweight woman exit it and go into the towns Op Shop.

Then five to 10 minutes later to turn up at the same location where I was meeting [his contact for collecting the excavator]. 

Why would she be there killing time? What was her purpose? I have no idea.

Mr Bashkurts third sighting of cars came as he exited with the excavator loaded on his truck along Batar Creek Road, where police conducted extensive searches in 2021. 

He saw an approaching gunmetal grey tradies dual cab ute loaded with tools, and an early 1980s model BMW which he told police at the time was black with a ladder on top of it.

But testifying on Wednesday, he said it was dark red, maybe burgundy. 

Mr Bashkurt said he reported the sightings because he thought, maybe I can help, don’t know whether that black car had anything to do with it.

The inquest is currently investigating the police theory that William Tyrells foster mother buried his body in bushland after he fell from a balcony and died on the morning he vanished.

Counsel assisting the inquest, Gerard Craddock SC told the inquest when reopening on Monday that the police theory was that William must have died at [his foster grandmothers home at] 48 Benaroon Drive [in Kendall].

The theory... police assert is that she must have quickly resolved that if the accidental death of William was discovered she might lose Lindsay.

Lindsay - not her real name, which cant be revealed for legal reasons - was another foster child in the care of the foster mother at that time, who also cant be named.

Police assert that in that frame of mind, [the foster mother] placed William in her mothers car, said Mr Craddock.

After alerting [a neighbour] to Williams disappearance, [she] drove her mothers car to Batar Creek Road and placed Williams body somewhere in the undergrowth.

Mr Craddock has said the area around Batar Creek Road had been extensively searched by police who did not believe any trace of William was left there.

The latest hearings in the William Tyrrell inquest are investigating the police theory that William fell from the balcony of his grandmothers house and his remains were buried in bushland

Police searching the bushland along Batar Creek Road, Kendall, where a truckie said he saw a woman throw an object from a car on the morning William Tyrrell disappeared

He also said that in the search for William after his disappearance - with police, fire fighters, cadaver dogs, chainsaws and hydraulic equipment – meant that the little boy had not simply just been lost in the search area.

William under his own steam could not travel beyond the area of the intensive search, he said. The conclusion there must have been human intervention.

Its beyond argument that no eye eyewitness can provide an account about how he left the boundaries of 48 Benaroon Drive.

Forensic anthropologist Dr Jennifer Menzies gave evidence that Williams skeletal remains might have survived in the bush, or could have been disintegrated by weather, rain or predation by rabbits, wombats, dogs, or foxes.

Water science expert, Professor Jon Olley, described how he combed a local rubbish dump and creeks in the search for William, whose body he said would have snagged and been caught if washed downhill.  

On Tuesday, police intelligence analyst Sergeant Robyn Ross testified that a mountain of tips which had poured in since Williams disappearance had resulted in a list of 6000 persons names.

Originally called the persons of interest spreadsheet, the identities were triaged into low, medium and high risk of possible involvement in the case, and investigated by the task force.

Sgt Ross said even when the inquest was concluded, detectives would continue to accept and analyse tips coming in.

The inquest, which began in 2019 but has been beset by protracted delays has now entered its final block of hearings, being held this week, and over the week  before Christmas.

Task force commander Detective Chief Inspector David Laidlaw (above at the search site in 2021) will not give evidence at the latest and final part of the inquest

A forensic anthropologist gave evidence that Williams skeletal remains could have survived in the bush, or been disintegrated by weather, rain or predation by rabbits, wombats, dogs, or foxes

Williams disappearance has become one of Australias most notorious missing persons cases. 

The inquest before Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame – examining Williams disappearance and suspected death – was delayed last year when prosecutors weighed up charges against the boys foster mother. 

Police handed a brief of evidence to the Director of Public Prosecutions that recommended Williams foster mother be charged with perverting the course of justice and interfering with a corpse.

Around that time, the foster parents solicitor Rylie Hahn called for police to disclose any evidence. 

Williams foster mother maintains she had nothing to do with his disappearance … and asks the police to continue to look for William and what happened to him,. Ms Hahn said.

In August this year, Ms Grahame was handed a letter from the DPP, outlining the status of a request for advice.

In the letter, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sally Dowling SC, said that NSW Police had in April asked her office to suspend its request for advice until the conclusion of the final block of inquest hearings. 

In 2022, Williams foster mother was found not guilty of lying to the NSW Crime Commission.

In November last year, Williams foster father was also acquitted of five counts of lying to the NSW Crime Commission.

The court was told at the time that during the Crime Commission hearing, counsel assisting, Sophie Callan SC, questioned the foster mother about whether William had fallen from the balcony and she had disposed of the body.

The couple has denied any wrongdoing or disposing of his corpse.