Step-dad arrested for aiding mom in girl's 11-year custody flight
CONCORD, N.H. - U.S. Marshals in Atlanta say they've arrested the husband of a woman who fled New Hampshire with her 8-year-old daughter a decade ago amid a custody dispute.
Jim Joyner, supervisor of the marshals' Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, says Scott Kelley, 50, was taken into custody about 2 p.m. Wednesday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as he arrived on a flight from Costa Rica. Kelley is charged with custodial interference.
His wife, Genevieve Kelley, faces trial next month on the same charge. Prosecutors say she defied a court order when she fled with her daughter, Mary Nunes, in 2004. According to the New Hampshire Union Leader, Genevieve Kelley turned herself in to authorities in November 2014, but did not disclose Mary or Scott's location.
Joyner says Mary Nunes, now 19, was with Scott Kelley on Wednesday but had no warrants for her arrest and she was released.
Genevieve Kelley says she left to protect Mary from abuse by her ex-husband, Dr. Mark Nunes. Nunes was investigated but never charged.
According to a statement from the U.S. Marshal's service, Scott Kelley and Mary Nunes went to the U.S. Consulate in Costa Rica on April 13 and requested passports to return to the United States. "During this process it was learned that Kelley had an outstanding arrest warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and that Nunes, 19, was a missing person," the statement reads. "Given this information, Kelley and Nunes were issued temporary passports for travel back to the United States."
When they arrived in Atlanta on Wednesday, U.S. Marshals were waiting, and arrested Kelley.
"Nunes was interviewed to ensure her health and safety and was allowed to continue to her final destination. Kelley is currently being held at Cobb County Jail pending extradition to New Hampshire."
Dr. Nunes made the following statement Wednesday: "We love Mary and are overjoyed that she is alive and back in the US. Our hearts and home are open to her, and we will do everything we can to insure she remains safe and healthy. We remain concerned about her emotional and physical well-being. We look forward to the day our family is finally reunited."