Kidnap to make boy happy

Jayden Headley

Jayden Headley's grandfather Dick told a neighbour a week before the little boy disappeared that it was time to take the law into his own hands.

Jayden, 6, was abducted from Hamilton's central library 45 days ago after a custody dispute between his parents.

Both have made public pleas for his maternal grandfather to return him, after reports that the pair may be in the Northland area.

Erol Odea has been Dick Headley's neighbour and friend for the past 10 years. He says the former miner and his little grandson are best buddies, and the September abduction was to protect Jayden's best interests.

"It is certainly not a kidnapping situation. Grandfathers don't kidnap, they love their grandkids," Odea told the Herald on Sunday.

"[Dick] told me a week before he left that he wanted to do something and that it was time to take the law into his own hands. I didn't realise he would do this, though. I don't want him to come back and be locked up, I just want to see that poor little boy happy."

Jayden's grandfather was frustrated at the Family Court's decision to award full custody to Jayden's father, Christopher Jones, on June 22, Odea said. Headley told Odea that Jayden was enormously upset about the long-standing custody feud.

Brian Hutching is an advocate for Jayden and his mother, Kay Skelton. He claims that Jayden has been caught up in a court battle involving deceit, jealousy and misguided love.

"Both parents want to have Jayden in their care, but ultimately, Jayden should be with the person he wants to be with.

"But the Family Court doesn't think a 6-year-old should be listened to," Hutching said. "Absolutely a joint custody arrangement would be best."

Prior to June, Jayden was cared for by his mother until Judge Brown transferred custody to his father.

Jayden's recent disappearance is only one piece of a lengthy and expensive battle. A staff member at the Family Court in Hamilton said Jayden's file was one of the largest at the court. His father had spent more than $160,000 fighting for custody.

"I won't give up on my son. If I was going to give up, I would've walked away long ago. My son means more to me than anything in the world," Jones told the Herald on Sunday. "Each night when I lock up the house and walk past his bedroom, I get this terrible feeling inside."

Jones wants Jayden to be returned home so arrangements can be made for him to continue life "as a normal child ... no 6-year-old deserves to live a life on the run without any stability".

Police charged Jayden's mother Kay Skelton with assisting Headley in kidnapping Jayden. Two weeks ago, she made a plea on TV One's Close Up for her father to return her son. Her lawyer, Roger Laybourn, said she knew that when Jayden was returned, he was "most unlikely" to be put into her care. Her case has been put on hold until Jayden is back home, as police want Headley and Skelton to appear before the court as a pair.

She refused to be interviewed by the Herald on Sunday.

Detective Sergeant Andy Bubear from Hamilton police said the case was "moving slowly" and there had been no positive leads to Jayden's whereabouts, other than a phone call one day after the abduction from a phone box in Kawakawa, Northland.

The Herald on Sunday has learned that a number of computers and documents have been seized from the homes of Jayden's family.

"[Jayden's mother] is not particularly helpful and won't sit down and tell us what she knows... If she had assisted, we would probably have found Jayden by now," Detective Sergeant Andy Bubear said.

He said detectives still had "a number of lines of enquiry to pursue".

* Anyone with information should contact Hamilton Police on (07) 858 6200