NEED TO KNOW
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John Skelton, the father of three young Michigan boys who vanished more than a decade ago, has been charged with murder
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Skelton has also been charged with three counts of tampering with evidence
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Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5, were with Skelton when they disappeared in November 2010
The father of three young Michigan boys who vanished 15 years ago has been charged with murder.
John Skelton was charged Wednesday, Nov. 12, with three counts of open murder and three counts of tampering with evidence, according to Lenawee County District Court records reviewed by PEOPLE.
Skelton, who’s currently serving a sentence of 10 to 15 years for unlawful imprisonment of his three sons, was previously set to be released from prison on Nov. 29, per WTOL11 . He had pleaded no contest to those charges, FOX 2 reported.
The boys — Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5 — were spending Thanksgiving with Skelton in November 2010 in Morenci, Mich., when they didn’t return home to their mother the following day, PEOPLE previously reported.
Michigan Department of Corrections
John Skelton
Authorities later searched Skelton’s home and found a noose hanging from the second floor, a Bible open with a verse circled and a note that seemed to address the boy’s mother Tanya Zuvers.
According to an FBI agent who testified in a March 2025 hearing to declare the boys legally dead, the note allegedly read: “You will hate me forever and I know this,” per the Associated Press.
“That was his passive admission to killing the children,” the agent said.
Former Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks also testified in that hearing that investigators discovered online searches by Skelton about how to break a neck and whether rat poison can kill people, according to the outlet.
13 Action News reported that Zuvers made the request for a death declaration to find closure and out of respect for her sons. The judge subsequently granted the request following the hearing.
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In response to the murder charges against Skelton, the family issued a statement saying the “latest development has left us shocked and heartbroken all over again,” per the outlet.
“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 … 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.”
“We also ask for privacy and respect during this incredibly difficult time as we process these devastating developments and await further information from law enforcement,” the statement continued, per the outlet.
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Read the original article on People
