Tyler Churchill
Tyler Churchill (2012)
Gustavo Barbosa
Episodes: 5454–5473
Occupation: Maintenance man
Tyler had been in juvenile detention with Casey, having stabbed his counsellor, and turned up in Summer Bay after being released. Casey was irritated by his presence but Brax agreed to let him stay with them. Tyler learned Casey had broken up with Ruby and argued with her, dismissing her as a waste of space when Dexter tried to get Casey to help with her drinking. Tyler noticed John advertising his V8 for sale but Casey told him to leave it alone. However, when John left the keys lying around, Tyler took the car. Casey spotted him driving it and told him to return it but he instead sold it to a guy he knew in the city and they were unable to get it back.
Tyler asked Romeo for surfing lessons and convinced Alf and Roo to give him a maintenance job at the caravan park, although he dodged Heath’s request for rent. He interrupted Casey talking to Henri Brown at school, then asked out Ruby, saying Casey wouldn’t care. When Casey found out, he threatened him with a pool cue but ended up striking Heath instead when he encouraged him to hit Tyler. Brax quizzed Tyler who said he was hassled by a couple of guys in juvie and Casey saved his life, before realising Casey hadn’t told Brax anything. Brax told him not to mess things up for Casey at school and Casey told him not to talk to anyone.
He tried it on with Ruby again, then broke Alf’s washing machine after trying to fix it without permission, losing his job. Brax and Heath found the money from the car and Tyler went to school to talk to Casey about it, ending up in an argument with Bianca and Henri. Brax gave the money to John in return for keeping the police out of it, then got the full story out of Tyler: Another inmate had been about to stab him when Casey had thrown boiling oil at him, leaving him scarred. Worried about it coming out, Brax threw Tyler out of the house. Casey gave him the bus fare to the city, telling him they weren’t friends and he wanted to forget about juvie.
A few days later, Casey found Tyler was sleeping rough. He arranged to meet him for lunch, but when Heath saw him at the surf club he sent him packing. He was then found by Irene and Colleen in the Diner kitchen, where he stole a knife. He was already wanted by the police for breaking his parole. Casey went to the woods where Tyler was camping out, giving him some food and money and addresses for a hostel and a job doing dishes in the city. Tyler convinced Casey to stay the night, but when Casey made it clear they still weren’t friends and he felt his life was better without Tyler, Tyler produced the knife and noted he stabbed his counsellor for turning his back on him. He chased Casey through the woods, at one point slashing his leg and finally managing to pin him to the ground. Brax arrived and warned Tyler what he would do to him if he hurt Casey. Tyler let Casey go, whimpering that he just wanted to be his friend, and it was later noted that he was with the police and unlikely to be released for a long time.