DS Tyler investigated two criminal matters involving the residents of Coronation Street.
The first was in September 2015 when drug dealer Callum Logan found himself in conflict with the Platt family over custody of Max Turner, his son by his ex-girlfriend Kylie Turner, now the wife of David Platt. They were not helped by Sarah Platt entering into a relationship with Callum when she was blinded by his charms and unable to see the darker side of his nature. When the scales were lifted from her eyes, he turned his attentions on to her and her daughter Bethany, leading to Sarah's ex, Jason Grimshaw, being subjected to a beating by Callum and his thugs for his troubles. To provide himself with an alibi, he blackmailed and threatened Bethany. She eventually broke and confessed all, leading to DS Tyler arresting Callum for GBH and perverting the course of justice.
After questioning, he was released on bail due to the expertise of Callum's solicitor, and the Platts put in a complaint of harassment against themselves but Tyler was unable to add it to the charge sheet due to a lack of evidence. He advised the family to be vigilant and confidently expected him not to come near them again.
Naturally, the thug failed to do so and a few days later, while attacking Sarah in 8 Coronation Street, Kylie rescued her sister-in-law by clubbing him with a wrench, killing him instantly. David put his body was put in a manhole underneath the newly-converted garage annex while, in a separate unconnected development, Jason's father and brother, Tony Gordon and Todd Grimshaw, stole his car and torched it. It was the discovery of the burnt-out shell that brought DS Tyler back to No.8, asking if anyone knew where the missing suspect could be found. He accepted their statements at face value but caused a tense moment when he asked to see inside the annex as he was considering a similar conversion for his mother-in-law.
A few weeks later, he was back to ask more questions as Callum was now officially down as skipping bail. David managed to cover his nerves with aplomb while Sarah and Kylie were much more on edge. Seven months later, in May 2016, the hiding place was discovered when Tyrone Dobbs accidentally crashed his pick-up truck through the front of the annex. The weight of vehicle cracked the flimsy concrete covering the manhole, breaking it open. The stench of the decomposing body gave the game away and led to a murder investigation which concluded that Tony Gordon, himself dead for only a few weeks, had previously confessed to the murder.
Another investigation for a missing man brought DS Tyler back to the street in January 2021. This time he was looking for crooked businessman Ray Crosby who was wanted in connection with a series of bribes and blackmail used to buy up the south side of the street and obtain illicit planning permission to demolish it and replace it with a development of luxury flats. In between these affairs, Ray had sexually assaulted or used a series of women, including Abi Franklin, and in revenge she had obtained video footage of him discussing his bribe with Susan, the chairperson of the council's planning committee. Ray had drugged Abi in an attempt to get the footage back, but was caught in the act by his business partner Debbie Webster. She put her knowledge to good use, rescuing Abi and, when the bribery became public and Susan was arrested, hiding him while taking over all of their financial affairs and his assets for her own purposes. She lied to Abi that she has killed Ray in defending her from harm, stating that the act had taken place next to a river. When Abi found out from DS Tyler that the missing man's car had indeed been found next to the river, her suspicions about the truth of Debbie's story were dispelled and she began to help Debbie cover her tracks. In front of Abi, DS Tyler asked Debbie why the call for an ambulance had come from her phone. She lied that, knowing that Abi was a former drug addict, that she had assumed she had overdosed of her own volition and had left her after calling the ambulance. With Abi backing the story up, Tyler accepted the truth of the statement.
A couple of weeks later, with Ray's signature on the contract, the police caught up with Ray and Tyler formally interviewed him at Weatherfield Police Station. Tyler asked Ray if he offered Susan a bribe but he refused to answer any questions until his brief arrived. He also called at 13 Coronation Street to speak to Abi about the matter, no knowing she had reported that Kevin and Debbie were both missing. Ray denied any knowledge of the matter, saying they had probably run off together with the spoils of the loot and Tyler put this likelihood to an aghast Abi. What none of them knew was that Ray had locked the two people in the walk-in freezer of the Viaduct Bistro's kitchen and they weren't discovered for several days, only being found just before they died of hypothermia.
List of appearances[]
2015
2021