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A father who went into hiding with his five-month-old baby daughter has spoken out and says he will turn himself in "very shortly."
Auckland man Stephen Jelicich, 39, has been on the run with Caitlin since breaking a court order to return the baby to her mother, Diane Jelicich, on January 9.
He vowed to stay in hiding unless he is guaranteed a new family court hearing in New Zealand.
On Monday night, Stephen contacted the Close Up programme after watching his estranged wife's interview and hearing an appeal to contact the show.
He said: "She is still being deceitful and telling a lot of lies.
"There are some real concerns about Diane's ability to cope emotionally, and when these are held in a proper hearing, I don't think any judge is going to see her as a fit parent."
The baby was supposed to leave for Wales on January 10 with Diane after a family court judge ruled that custody should be decided in Britain. Caitlin was born in Wales and has dual citizenship. Stephen has complained that the court hearing last month was rushed, but his wife thinks the process was fair.
When asked when he was going to turn himself in, he said: "I'm in contact with a lawyer and am arranging that. I would assume it would happen tomorrow [Tuesday]."
Stephen said his wife has a multitude of problems and urged her "to come clean, tell the truth."
Diane told Close Up she did suffer post-natal depression two and a half years ago after losing a baby girl she had with Stephen.
"I found it hard to cope and Stephen was unsupportive. I ended doing some really mad things and had a lot of treatment, but I went back to work two weeks later because Stephen said he couldn't afford to keep me."
The marriage broke down, Diane said, after an argument she had with her husband on November 28. Diane told her husband that she wanted to take Caitlin and her 11-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, back to Wales to live. "Then I received a letter from a solicitor stating he wasn't going return to Wales and he was applying for custody for Caitlin. It all went down hill from there."
Diane left on a flight for Wales with her 11-year-old daughter but plans to return to New Zealand. Speaking from her home in Swansea, she said she misses her baby daughter immensely. "It has been the longest and saddest week of my life. I miss her so much."
Diane said she wasn't concerned about her daughter's safety and Stephen said Caitlin was "fine."
Stephen met his wife over the internet in 2000 and they had an on-and-off relationship complicated by the fact that neither of them like living in each other's country.
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