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The Waikato woman accused of kidnapping her son following a high-profile custody dispute is now enjoying weekly visits with the boy. The Herald on Sunday has learnt Kay Skelton has been seeing 7-year-old Jayden Headley once a week under a supervised access arrangement put in place through Barnados.
Skelton, her father, Dick Headley, and family friend Nikala Taylor have all been charged with kidnapping Jayden and face a depositions hearing in September to decide whether there is a case to answer.
It is understood Jayden's father, Chris Jones, is supportive of his son having contact with his mother.
The Herald on Sunday understands contact between Skelton and Jayden had initially been limited to an hour or two a week under the watch of child psychologists.
After they were satisfied Skelton was not a threat to Jayden's emotional wellbeing, that was then extended to a day a week under the supervision of Barnados.
A source close to the case said Jones did not want to deny Jayden access to his mother as he believed that wouldn't be in the child's best interests.
Jones understood while there was always an element of risk with Skelton having access to Jayden, his hope was that she would do nothing to jeopardise an ongoing relationship with the boy, the source said.
The first shots in the acrimonious custody battle between Jones and Jayden's mother, Kay Skelton were fired in 2001, just seven months after Jayden was born.
What followed were applications and cross-applications for custody, claims and counter-claims of physical and psychological abuse, questions over paternity and suggestions of a "continued conspiracy to keep Jones out of Jayden's life".
In December 2002, Skelton took her son and lived for eight months on Australia's Gold Coast, only returning to avoid Hague Convention proceedings.
Jones was granted access to his son but by February 2005, Jayden, according to court documents, had become scared of his father, "occasionally throwing tantrums and expressing extremely negative views about Chris saying he hated him and didn't want to see him".
The situation came to a head last August when Jayden was allegedly kidnapped by Skelton's father Dick from outside Hamilton Library.
Two months later Skelton was jailed for contempt for failing to reveal where her son was.
After five months in hiding, Headley, 68, returned the child to police in January, less than an hour before Skelton was due to appear in court to answer a kidnapping charge.
Since then Jayden has been living with Jones, his current partner, Anita Hall, her 7-year-old daughter, Jessie, and the couple's newborn baby.
