A Michigan man charged with killing his three sons who vanished in 2010 appeared in court on Wednesday.
The Daily Telegram reported that John Skelton appeared virtually in Lenawee County court for a probable cause conference, which was originally scheduled for December 1. He is charged with murdering Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5, sometime between November 25 and 26, 2010 — though their bodies were never found.
Prosecutors filed murder charges against John Skelton in November, weeks before he was to complete his 15-year sentence for unlawfully imprisoning his sons.
The boys’ mother, Tanya Zuvers, and John Skelton were in the middle of a divorce when Zuvers allowed him to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with their sons. Zuvers, who had sole custody, planned to pick them up the next day, but John Skelton reportedly refused to reveal their whereabouts after a suicide attempt.
FBI Special Agent Corey Burras said John Skelton searched online about how to break a neck, potassium cyanide, and rat poison. The searches were allegedly conducted in the same month his sons disappeared.
John Skelton appeared virtually at March’s hearing to declare his sons legally dead. He did not provide any information about their whereabouts.
“I’m at a disadvantage. Anything I say isn’t going to make a difference,” he said.
In March, a judge granted Zuvers’ petition to have her three sons declared legally dead. However, the judge ruled there was insufficient evidence proving they were murdered on or about November 26, 2010, or that their father killed them.
A probable cause affidavit from early November stated that state police interviewed John Skelton, but he became uncooperative and refused to disclose his sons’ whereabouts. The document stated that he has been “inconsistent and misleading” for the past 15 years.
John Skelton’s bond was set at 60 million. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for May.
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[Featured image: Handout]