A father in Michigan was charged on Wednesday with murdering his three young sons, who disappeared 15 years ago.
The suspect is identified as John Skelton, whose children, Andrew, nine, Alexander, seven, and Tanner, five, disappeared at Thanksgiving in 2010, the New York Post reported on Thursday. The children were never found.
The outlet cited Lenawee County District Court records and said the charges against the father came days before he was supposed to be released from prison after serving 15 years for not returning the children to their mother. The couple was living apart at the time the boys vanished.
When Skelton did not return them to their mother, she reported them missing, and police later issued an Amber Alert, according to ABC 13.
After the siblings disappeared while they were with their father in Morenci, Skelton reportedly lied about their whereabouts and sent police to several locations to look for them.
In 2018, Click on Detroit posted a full-length television special about the missing brothers:
The boys’ family members issued a statement after Skelton was charged in their murder. It read in part:
It has been fifteen long years since our three boys – Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner- went missing. Throughout this time, our family has lived with unimaginable pain, unanswered questions, and the constant hope that one day we might learn the truth about what happened to them.
Today, we have been informed that an arrest warrant has been issued for John Skelton, who has been incarcerated for the past fifteen years and was scheduled for release in just over two weeks. This latest development has left us shocked and heartbroken all over again.
Our priority has always been – and continues to be – finding out what happened to Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner and seeking justice for them. We ask that the investigation be allowed to proceed thoroughly and without interference so that the truth may finally come to light.
Skelton has changed his story multiple times. He initially told police he gave the children to some kind of group and also mentioned a woman, Click on Detroit reported Thursday.
Per the ABC 13 article, “A Lenawee County judge granted a request to declare the siblings legally dead just earlier this year. Tanya Zuvers, the siblings’ mother, said she made the request for a death declaration to find closure and out of respect for her sons.”
