Rebecca Minnock, who went on the run with her three-year-old son Ethan, has said she still hopes the courts will allow her custody of the child.
Ethan has been handed over to his father, Roger Williams, after Minnock surrendered to police on Friday night following 17 days on the run.
Minnock and Williams may both be called before Judge Stephen Wildblood QC on Monday, after he has been closely involved in the effort to find mother and son.
On Friday, Minnock’s mother, Louise Minnock, and her partner, Andrew Butt, were jailed for their part in helping her flee and remain hidden. Butt claimed that he and Rebecca Minnock had hatched the plot for her to flee to generate publicity for her long-running custody battle.
Minnock continued to make public thoughts on the case over the weekend via her Facebook page. She said: “I am preying [sic] that this case gets re looked at properly and the judge can see that my son belongs with his mama who absolutely loves him to bits.”
She added: “Think you all know how much I adore Ethan. Two years of hell, but would do it over and over if it meant he was safe with me.”
Minnock, from Highbridge, Somerset, also described her pain that seeds Ethan had planted were starting to grow without him being able to see them. “That heart-breaking moment when you see that the little seed your baby planted weeks and weeks ago has finally started to grow, and he’s not here to see it,” she said. “To say I’m devastated is an understatement.”
On Saturday, Williams said: “Ethan is safely back in my care now.” A police spokesman said no arrests had been made following the return of mother and son. “This will be a matter for the family courts now,” the spokesman added.
Wildblood confirmed there would be a hearing at Bristol crown court on Monday. He said the hearing was due be in open court to explain what had happened and where matters would go from here.
The need to find Minnock, who went missing with Ethan on the day of a court hearing at which she expected to lose custody of the boy, meant – very unusually – the judge allowed details of family proceedings to be made public. He is likely to rule on Monday on how the case should be reported from now on.
