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FRONTPAGE

August 03. 2012 12:29AM

Durham woman charged after leaving NH with grandson

HOLLIS — A grandmother is facing charges after allegedly violating a court order by leaving the state with her grandson.

Sandra Thorne, 67, of 10 Watson Road in Durham was arrested in Windsor Lakes Conn., on charges of being a fugitive from justice. She faces extradition to New Hampshire to answer charges of interference of custody, according to Lt. Richard Mello of the Hollis Police Department.

The child’s father, John Testa, reported a possible parental kidnapping to Hollis Police Wednesday afternoon, Mello said. Police were told the 4-year-old boy may have been taken out of the state in violation of a court order issued by the 9th Circuit Court, Family Division, in Nashua.

Testa and the boy’s mother, Jayne Phillips, recently returned to New Hampshire after living temporarily in New Orleans while Phillips attended a 12-month accelerated nursing program, according to court records. They were living as a couple when they returned.

On Sunday, Phillips allegedly said she was taking their son on an overnight visit with a friend and would return Monday evening. When they didn’t return, Testa became alarmed. He discovered Phillips had purchased airline tickets for herself and the child online and was scheduled to leave on Tuesday, according to court records.

Testa received a court order on Monday preventing his son from leaving the state. It was served Tuesday morning, and Phillips and her son were escorted off the plane. A second court order gave Testa temporary custody of the boy.

Durham police attempting a wellness check on the boy on Wednesday at his grandmother’s house discovered no one was home and her car was missing.

Testa believed the trio may have been heading to the home of the boy’s godmother in Niantic, Conn., records said.

It took police about eight hours to track the child and his grandmother to a hotel in Windsor Locks, Conn., Mello said. Thorne refused to surrender the child, leading police to obtain a felony arrest warrant. Thorne was taken into custody around 11 p.m.

The boy was in good condition when he was returned to his father, Mello said.

Mello could not say where Phillips is now or whether the family is cooperating with the investigation. Additional charges are possible, Mello said.

“We are definitely looking at other people,” Mello said.

The next steps in the case will depend on whether Thorne fights extradition to this state, Mello said.

jhanson@newstote.com

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