LENAWEE COUNTY, Mich. – Fifteen years after the Skelton brothers vanished, their father, John Skelton, has officially been charged with their murder.
Prosecutors charged Skelton with three counts of murder and three counts of tampering with evidence on Monday (Nov. 17) in Lenawee County Court, just two weeks before his scheduled release from prison on an unlawful imprisonment conviction.
Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner Skelton — ages nine, seven, and five at the time — disappeared on Nov. 26, 2010, during a custody dispute between their parents.
The boys were legally declared dead in March 2025.
Court documents obtained Monday reveal new details in the long-running investigation, including evidence that Skelton conducted online searches for methods of killing someone in the week of their disappearance.
When the boys’ mother attempted to pick them up, investigators say Skelton claimed he was hospitalized following a failed suicide attempt. Police later found his house was in “disarray.”
Michigan State Police indicate Skelton has continued to provide inconsistent and misleading statements, including during his most recent interview on Nov. 3.
The judge set the bond at $60 million.
Skelton is scheduled for a probable cause hearing on Nov. 24. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence.
Skelton has offered varying accounts of the boys’ disappearance over the years, including claims that he gave them to an underground group for protection and that they would “hibernate until they graduate.”
Investigators have not disclosed what specific new evidence led to the murder charges at this time, with more details expected to emerge during court proceedings in the coming months.
To this day, the three boys have not been found.
Anyone with information about the case or the boys’ whereabouts is asked to call Michigan State Police at 1-517-636-0689 or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.
Previous coverage