A Michigan father faces murder charges nearly 15 years after his three young sons vanished from their family home in a case that has haunted investigators and devastated their mother.
Charges Filed Days Before Prison Release
John Skelton, 53, has been charged with three counts of murder and tampering with evidence in the deaths of his sons - nine-year-old Andrew, seven-year-old Alexander and five-year-old Tanner Skelton. The charges were filed in Lenawee County District Court on Wednesday, just days before Skelton was due to be released from prison.
The timing is particularly significant as Skelton was completing a 15-year sentence for unlawful imprisonment. He had been convicted for failing to return the boys to their mother after they spent Thanksgiving Day with him in 2010 in Morenci, a town near the Ohio border.
Authorities have consistently believed the three brothers were dead and that their father was responsible. However, without their bodies ever being found, prosecutors could only secure unlawful imprisonment charges in 2011, to which Skelton pleaded no contest.
A Mother's Long Quest for Closure
The boys' mother, Tanya Zuvers, has endured years of uncertainty and grief. In March this year, she requested a formal declaration of death from the court to achieve closure and provide what she called 'respect' to her sons.
'This development marks a significant moment in a long and painful journey,' Zuvers said in a statement. 'While I understand the public interest in this case, I ask that my family's privacy be respected as we process this news and continue to grieve the loss of Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner.'
Zuvers praised police and prosecutors who have 'worked tirelessly over the years to seek justice for my sons.'
Contradictory Stories and Evidence
Skelton has maintained that he handed the boys over to an underground organisation to protect them from their mother. However, police have never found any evidence to support this claim and noted that Skelton provided differing accounts of who he entrusted his children to.
Investigators described Skelton as feeding them 'a long string of lies' about the boys' whereabouts and determined that his claims about giving them to other people for safety were false.
Michigan State Police Detective Lt. Jeremy Brewer, the lead investigator, stated in March that he had 'no doubt whatsoever' that Skelton killed the brothers. Skelton declined to participate in that court hearing, telling a judge by videoconference from prison: 'Anything I say isn't going to make a difference.'
Testimony from Larry Weeks, a former Morenci police chief who worked on the case, revealed disturbing details about the scene where the boys were last seen. Weeks described finding the home in 'disarray' with broken glass and cabinets, cut electrical cords to appliances, and what appeared to be a noose hanging from a second-story balcony.
Officers also discovered a written message consistent with a suicide note. FBI agent Corey Burras testified that investigators found a Bible open with a verse circled and a note apparently left for Zuvers that read, 'You will hate me forever and I know this.' Burras characterised this as Skelton's 'passive admission to killing the children.'
The day the boys were last seen, Skelton was found at Fulton County Medical Center in Ohio with an ankle injury from what was described as a suicide attempt.
