Grandparents' 'kidnap' extradition case adjourned

The extradition case involving a Cork couple wanted in the United States over the alleged kidnapping of their grandson was adjourned at the High Court today for two weeks.

American authorities are trying to secure the return of Tom and Ethel Blake after they brought their grandson Dylan Benwell from Chicago to live with them in Ireland.

If the US extradition request is granted, the pair will face a charge of kidnapping.

The case, being heard by Mr Justice Michael Peart, was put back for two weeks to allow time for a number of affidavits to be filed. A date for hearing may be set on that day, the court was told.

The couple were arrested in September 2005 at their home in Cobh after it was alleged they had committed the offence of kidnapping in that they knowingly and by deceit enticed Dylan to travel to Dublin with them from his home in Chicago, Illinois.

Days before the Benwell family was due to move to Norfolk, Virginia, in 2004 it is alleged the Blake’s took Dylan out of the country. The boy’s stepfather, US naval officer John Benwell, was being posted to the Atlantic Fleet and the family wanted to be near him.

Mr and Mrs Blake had helped to take care of Dylan from he was two weeks old following the death of his biological father. After the death, Dylan’s mother, Serena, met and later married John Benwell of the US Navy and eventually moved with her youngest children to the US.