KEY POINTS:
The grandfather who continues to keep 6-year-old Jayden Headley in hiding has penned another hand-written letter to the Herald, saying there is "no way" he will return the boy to secure his daughter's release from prison.
This ahead of what is expected to be a week of big
developments in the bitter custody case, which has dragged on since the boy was kidnapped from Hamilton Public Library on August 18.
Jayden's mother, Kay Skelton, was imprisoned more than a month ago after failing to disclose the whereabouts of her son.
The judge was unconvinced by arguments that she had no knowledge of where he was and found her to be in contempt.
She also faces charges relating to the kidnapping, but the case is yet to go to court.
Orders are in place for the boy to be returned to the care of his father, Chris Jones, as police continue their manhunt for Dick Headley and Jayden.
In the latest letter, Mr Headley said a video he made for the Close Up television programme was about proving the boy's writing and spelling skills.
An earlier letter sent to the Herald, apparently penned by Jayden, had been discredited with suggestions that it had been written under duress.
Mr Headley took exception to the way Close Up had portrayed the story.
"I am not using the boy as a porn [sic] ... I did not see Close Up but it sounds like the tape has been cut and tucked to suggest I am holding my grandson to ransom, that is ridiculous.
"I did not say I would return my grandson to Jones, I said I would return Jayden to his mother's care pending a full investigation into the way the courts have conducted these proceedings."
The letter was accompanied by another note written by Jayden, in which the boy asks to be allowed to return to his mother.
Mr Headley further claimed his grandson was initially put into the care of Mr Jones this year as "the result of cronyism and corruption in the Hamilton Courts".
The court-appointed counsel for the boy, Tracey Gunn, was also criticised by Mr Headley.
Yesterday, Mr Jones was uninterested in allegations that he had undergone anger management and said Mr Headley had tried to attack him.
"To be honest, it's just further garbage. My focus is not on the rubbish that Dick Headley is sending, it's on finding my son."
Allegations from Mr Headley about a confrontation on a holiday weekend were also rejected by Mr Jones.
"I don't know. There's been situations where I've gone to pick up Jayden and he [Mr Headley] has lunged at me. I removed myself from the situation ... He chased me up the road with an axe."
He admitted he had attended an anger management course when his son was 7 months old, despite a denial that he ever had such a problem.
Mr Jones said he went through the programme to avoid restraining orders being placed on him.
Fighting the orders would have meant a lengthy and costly. "It was much simpler and economic to go through this silly course," he said.
His lawyer, Thomas Sutcliffe, said Skelton had insisted that Mr Jones also went through a parenting course. He had completed the voluntary courses to appease Skelton. Neither course was a court-imposed order.
"Chris Jones has jumped through all the hoops that she's held up for him to satisfy in order for him to have a relationship with his child."
This week, it is understood suppression orders that detail some of the background to the custody dispute may be revisited by the courts, meaning the media may be free to report it.
Skelton is due back in court to challenge the ruling that put her behind bars, as a depositions date is also set for a separate charge relating to the kidnapping of her own son.
