Carmen's mum faces custody snag

Teresa Scott, who is seeking custody of her grandson. Photo / Steven McNicholl

The mother of missing Auckland woman Carmen Thomas wants to take her grandson Jack to South Africa - but she may face a legal fight to get him there.

Police believe Ms Thomas was killed and dismembered, and have charged her former partner - Jack's father, Brad Callaghan, 32 - with her murder.

Officers yesterday returned to the central Auckland construction site where Callaghan worked, using cranes to lower people into a 10.5m hole, hunting for evidence and using a jackhammer to break up concrete.

They have been investigating the site for a week.

Ms Thomas was last seen alive three months ago today and police are still looking for her remains.

Callaghan was arrested last Tuesday, and attention has now turned to the future of his 5-year-old son.

Ms Thomas' mother, Teresa Scott, who lives in South Africa, has written on a Facebook page dedicated to finding Carmen that "Jack is coming home to us".

Another of Ms Thomas' relatives said: "He will be where he belongs ... [with] his loving family."

But family lawyers the Herald contacted say it may not be that easy.

Jack is believed to be living with his father's family, who may have a better chance of getting custody.

Lawyer Graeme Stanton, from Auckland Family Law, said yesterday that a judge considering a custody application from Ms Thomas' mother would consider many complicated factors.

"The best interests of the child are of paramount consideration. It's really a matter of looking at who he knows, where he may be best placed.

"There's the fact that he lived in New Zealand all his life, and I guess they would look at the degree of contact there's been between him and the respective claimants to have his day-to-day care, [to see] who he's going to be comfortable with."

Anyone wanting custody would have to persuade the court that it was in Jack's best interests to be with them rather than somebody else.

A mutual friend of the former couple has described the relationship between Ms Thomas and Callaghan as volatile, and said they had broken up before Ms Thomas discovered she was pregnant while in Britain.

They tried to get back together, but it didn't work out and Callaghan returned to New Zealand, followed soon after by Ms Thomas and baby Jack.

Mr Stanton said a custody dispute could be handled quickly because new Family Court procedures gave priority to the hearing of custody applications.

It was likely an interim custody order would be made before permanent arrangements were decided.

If Callaghan were acquitted of the murder charge, he would not automatically get custody of his son.

"Even if the father had been acquitted, if there were still serious suspicions about his involvement or evidence to indicate his involvement, then that could be a negative factor.

"The courts are very careful to protect the child. Mud can stick even if the conviction's not there."

Qian Xun Xue - the little Auckland girl who became known as Pumpkin after she was dumped by her father at a train station in Melbourne - was put into the guardianship of her grandmother and moved to China.

She was abandoned after her father, Nai Yin Xue, killed his wife - the little girl's mother, Anan Liu - and fled New Zealand.

At the Family Court hearing, Judge Peter Boshier said: "Given the indescribably sad events which have seen her abandoned and then deprived of her mother, I can think of no better solution than to permit her to now be nurtured and deeply loved by her grandmother."

Meanwhile, Callaghan's pregnant fiancee, Tanith Butler, has been interviewed by detectives.

Until Callaghan's arrest, she had been helping to look after Jack.

Today, police and Urban Search and Rescue staff will return to the Victoria St construction site to continue the messy hunt for clues.

Yesterday, workers lowered into the hole were drilling into concrete at the bottom.

Just before 3pm, they could be heard discussing the concrete's strange shape, before a police photographer was sent down.

Although officers removed several items of interest, the police said there were "no developments" in the case.

More than 80 buckets of sludge were hauled up and sifted.

Anything of interest - including what appeared to be a ring - was placed in a black bucket nearby.

DECIDING FACTORS

What the Family Court considers when awarding custody:

* How well a child knows the person.
* How comfortable the child is with them.
* The age of the applicant and the long-term care they can provide.
* Whether the applicant will allow the child contact with other important people in his or her life.