The Skelton Brothers /// Part 1 | Forensic Files

Whenever I need to send roses that are guaranteed to make someone's day, the only place I trust is 1800flowers.com.
With 1800 Flowers, my friends and family always receive stunning, highquality bouquets that they absolutely love.
Right now, when you buy a dozen multicolored roses, 1800 Flowers will double your bouquet to two dozen roses.
To claim this special double roses offer, go to 1800flowers.com/pandora. That's 1800flowers.com/pandor.
At Strayer University, we help students like you go from will I to why not. For over 130 years, we've been innovating
higher education to make it more affordable, accessible, and attainable so you can reach your goals. Go from
thinking, "Can I to yes, I can." And keep striving. Visit strayer.edu to learn more. Strayer University is
certified to operate in Virginia by Chevan and its many campuses including at 212115th Street North in Arlington,
Virginia. [Music] [Applause] Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, thanks
for listening. I'm your host, Nick, and with me as always is a man that needs no
introduction, but we do a unique one every week anyway because it would just be weird not to. He is the captain.
Yeah, but maybe I can stop coming out from behind the curtain every week cuz that's getting a little weird. It's good
to be seen and it's good to see you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend.
[Music] This week we are featuring Hop Solution by the amazing craftsmen and women at
Bell's Brewery, Inc. up in one of my favorite states, Michigan. Garage Grade four out of five bottle caps. This is a
remarkably drinkable double IPA with a fantastic hop combination and massive aromomas of tropical fruit, citrus, and
pine and a mild caramel malt character and a dry finish. This all provides very nice balance. I want to give a quick
shout out to Michigan beer expert and writer Ben Darcy. And Hop Solution was brought to us by these remarkably
generous garage gems. First up, we have Laura in Little Rock, Arkansas. And a big we like your jib to Wendy in
Vancouver. Next up, a cheers to our friend Lisa who is sipping whiskey sour in Chicago.
And a big cheers made to Glenn in Big Spring, Texas. Next, we have a cheers to Kisha and Roondo Beach. And last but not
least, we have Elliot in Portland, Oregon. So, buy a round for me or the captain or both by going to true
crimegar.com and clicking on that donate button. If you'd like to support the show and get something in return, go to
the store page, buy one of our awesome t-shirts, and don't forget all of our old episodes are available on the very
free, very awesome Stitcher app. All right, Captain, that's enough of the business. Everybody gather around, grab
a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime. [Music] [Music] [Music] Well, investigators from multiple
agencies spent all evening here at the home in Morreny where the boys were last seen on Thanksgiving evening. They took
evidence from the home. There's also concern tonight because of a posting on Facebook from the boy's father. John
Skelton's last Facebook post reads, "I love my wife very much. May God and Tanya forgive me." A cryptic message
that police are now trying to decipher. Meanwhile, FBI, Michigan State Police, and Morreny police brought out the
chopper and searched John Skelton's home late into Saturday night. Skelton's house was the last place his three sons
were seen alive. 5-year-old Tanner, 7-year-old Alexander, and 9-year-old Andrew have not been seen or heard from
since Thursday night. Anytime you have children this old that are not with a caring loved one, I think you you have
to assume they're in some kind of jeopardy. Everybody is is still, like I said, hoping and praying
and trying to remain positive. So, we're hoping that the community can still stay
with us and be positive and be there and be our support. Police say the three little boys disappeared after a bizarre
chain of events reported by their father. Morreny police say John Skelton tried to kill himself in his home on
Friday. But before doing so, Skelton says he handed off the kids to a woman he met years ago on the side of the
road. Skelton is telling investigators the woman, Joanne Taylor, had car trouble, so he pulled over to help her
and has maintained contact with her over email. Skelton says Joanne picked up the
kids Friday morning at the house before he attempted suicide. Police are not sure this story adds up. Up to this
point, we have not been able to locate a Joanne Taylor or confirm that she even exists. Skeleton's
neighbor said he recently lost his job and separated from his wife, but they didn't know his troubles had reached a
boiling point. If my husband was in the yard, uh, they'd be over seeing what he was doing and helping and just seemed
like a very normal family. Police say they do appreciate the many tips they have received from the community. So far
though, the whereabouts of the little boys are not known. [Music] The key persons in this case are John
Skelton, his wife Tanya, and their three sons, Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner. The
boys are young, ages 9, 7, and five. And in late 2010, it's important to know that the parents, John and Tanya, are
living in separate residences and in the process of ending the marriage. Let's jump right into the timeline of some of
the key events in the second half of 2010. On Monday, September 13th, 2010, John
says he's leaving for work, but instead of going to work, John Skelton takes the
three boys out of school. He signs them out and drives them to Florida. John's parents live in Jacksonville, Florida.
Tanya finds out about this. This is because the school called her to say that they are confused about what's
going on because Tanya brought the kids to school that morning and she even dropped off medicine when dropping off
the kids. They called because later Jon shows up and checks the boys out telling
the school that the family was going on vacation to Florida. Jon is weird about the whole thing when Tanya reaches out
to him. This is just after noon that day and John and the kids are still in the area with the attempt of going to
Florida. So, they're not in Florida, they're still in Michigan at this time. He first says that they are going to
Florida for a 3w weekek vacation, but he also adds that he will put the kids in school once he's down in Florida. So,
this doesn't sound much like a vacation to their mother, Tanya. Tanya calls an attorney and she finds out the only way
she can prevent Jon from taking the kids to Florida is for her to file for a divorce and request emergency custody of
the children. A judge signs papers granting custody to Tanya. But before Jon could be served the papers, he
catches wind of what is going on and he orders the boys into his vehicle. Now, he only gets the two oldest boys into
his vehicle, and John then drives those two kids down to Florida, leaving the youngest boy, Tanner, back in Michigan
with his mother. The next day, Jon has the boys call home to speak with their mother. Now, after this phone call,
Tanya jumps into action and she goes down to Florida and she gets the Jacksonville Sheriff's Department
involved in this whole situation. They serve Jon a custody order. Then they have to meet with a judge. This is
down in Jacksonville. This judge orders John, the boys, and Tanya to return to Michigan and states that the two parents
will have joint custody for the drive home until they reach the Michigan state line. There, the boys are to be in the
custody of their mother per the Michigan judge's previous order. This whole process from the time the boys were
taken on Monday, September 13th until they get back to Michigan, this takes a little over a week. This was not a quick
process. This was not a quick turnaround. And the mother had to go to great lengths to make sure that her two
oldest sons were returned back to Michigan. Well, it's not the best foot to start a divorce on having these kind
of battles. Yeah. And this whole battle is super weird because from both standpoints because you have Tanya who's
kind of left there going, "What's going on? Why is my soon tobe ex-husband just taking the kids and going down to
Florida?" Right? And John has parents there. So, I mean, he has family there, so it's not super weird on that level.
But what is weird is that this was not like talked about between the two of them. I mean to to at great lengths. We
we do have John at some point who suggests that maybe the whole family should go move down to Florida. And
Tanya says, you know, I can't really do that right now. I can't do that. Mind you, she's thinking that the marriage is
ending. Why would the whole family, you know, pick up roots and go down to Florida?
And the whole statement too of well we're going on a three-week vacation but while I'm down there because now mind
you this is September right school starts around that time for these boys. So Tanya's wondering what are you doing
taking the kids out of school? School just started. You're taking them on a 3-week vacation. That's like the guy
that just signs up for a new job and then goes on vacation the second week after he started working there. It just
doesn't make any sense. Mhm. you know, asking why would you go on this three-week vacation? Yeah, I'm sure the
kids would have fun down there, but he's like, "Oh, well, while I'm down there, I'll just sign them up for school."
Well, that doesn't seem like a vacation. Who signs up people for school once they
get to a new location? Sounds like you're moving. Yeah, against her best wishes. Well, then on Tuesday, November
23rd, 2010, all three boys were living with their mother, Tanya. According to Tanya, Jon is still trying to determine
if they could get back together. They are not living together, but Tanya believed it was in everyone's best
interest that even though she had full custody at this time of the boys that they should be allowed to visit with
their father. Tanya was not really interested in getting the marriage back together, but the boys loved their
father and she was not going to deny them seeing him or staying the night at his new place. Well, it's kind of his
new place. It's now him living at their old place without her, right? It's his new old place, right? So, the way that
this works is Tanya goes and she has to live elsewhere because they're separating. John's at the family's home
with the three boys. Right now, Tanya is staying with the help of some friends. It sounds like somebody was selling a
house or in the process of moving out. Regardless, she's living at this house in the same neighborhood as John and
it's two blocks away. They're close enough that you can see portions of each of the properties from the other
property, if that makes sense. Well, and this is good for them, too, because then
they're close to their house. Yeah. And it it's I believe it's a rented house, but that's the house they know. And
yeah, like you said, they know other kids in the neighborhood. this is a familiar place for them. I mean, divorce
is tough on children and Tanya seems to be going above and beyond and out of her
way to make it easier on the children, allowing them to see their father even though she has the custody rights. One,
you could walk to your other house. You could walk to see your mom. You could walk to see your dad. And also, like I
said, with it getting off to such a rocky start, maybe they said, "Hey, we got to do something better, you know,
for the kids." Well, Tanya also does not fear at this time that Jon would attempt
to leave to Florida again with the kids as she believed it appeared that he had learned his lesson the first time and
that he was obeying the Michigan judges instructions. Plus, Tanya was recommending to Jon counseling and he
seemed to be open to the idea. Remember, it appears Jon had an interest in getting back together with Tanya. Taniel
wanted counseling, both couples counseling and family counseling, and they were going to counseling sessions
together. Previous to this day, Tanya has agreed to let John have the boys for the
Thanksgiving Day holiday. The next day, November 24th, 2010, the boys are at Tanya's parents' home that morning until
Jon can pick them up later that day around 5:00 p. John picks up the three boys around the
scheduled time. From there, they go to his home. John would later say, and mind you, it's a little confusing if he is
referring to Wednesday or Thursday, right? But he says while the kids are with him, he cooked them one of their
favorite meals, fried chicken, and baked them a cake. Then we have Thursday, November 25th, Thanksgiving. My favorite
day of the year, food, football, a good amount of libations. Well, some bubbly. Yeah. Tanya later
states that on this day she is on the phone with Jon and according to her, Jon is asking if there is any chance that
they could get back together. Tanya is giving him the old I don't know, probably not, you know, giving him that
routine. Tanya can hear her three sons in the background while talking with Jon and says it sounds to her like the boys
are having a great time. They're playing and such. Later, Tanya would say she is
not 100% certain that she spoke with John on this day on this Thursday. She says there is a chance it was on
Wednesday night, but you know, with the with the holidays going on, there's a lot going on here. So, it does sound to
me that she feels stronger that the conversation took place on this Thursday. Regardless of which day it
actually was, we do have a neighbor of John's. This is the lady. I believe she lived across the street. She tells
police later that she saw all three boys playing outside that afternoon. Most reports state this is around 5:00 p.m.
on that Thursday, November 25th, Thanksgiving Day. Mhm. Friday, November 26th, Black Friday, one of my least
favorite days. Tanya, per the arrangements made before Thanksgiving, is scheduled to pick the three boys up
at John's place at 3:00 p.m. That morning, however, Tanya and John trade phone calls and text. The topic, Tanya
would like to pick the boys up earlier if possible. She's asking if she could get them around noon. John says he
would. However, they are not at his home. Tanya says to John, "What are you talking about? From my place, I can see
your driveway and your van is parked in the driveway." John says, "Friends of his came and picked him up and the boys
up and they were out having fun." Now, please keep in mind as we go through this, this is Tanya and John having
multiple conversations that day because later that day, he says the boys are still with his friends. Mhm. that he
John is home and his friend is scheduled to drop the kids off at his place at 3 p.m. so they can be picked up by Tanya
at 3 p.m. So now Tanya is asking, "Well, can they just drop them off to me at my
place? You know, I obviously live in the same neighborhood, right?" Unfortunately, regardless of all of
these conversations, they never agree to a time for Tanya to pick up the boys. In
fact, this is where it all falls apart. The next time Tanya talks to John, he says, "I'm on my way to the hospital. I
think I broke my leg." Tanya wants to know where her sons are, and how is she going to get them back. John says, "They
are not with me. They are still with my friend, and she is going to bring them back to my house." He thinks Tanya wants
to get in touch with this friend of John's or at least for him to do so, but he is saying he does not have his
friend's phone number on him and he doesn't know what will happen with the boys getting to Tanya's.
This very obviously upsets the boy's mother and she calls her attorney. The attorney advises Tanya to wait until
after the scheduled time. Wait until after 300 p.m. before you do anything. At 3:01 p.m., Tanya calls the police and
reports her boys as missing. So, remember we said John was on his way to the hospital. This is because he
called a friend to drive him there. Once at the hospital, Jon checks himself in seeking treatment for an ankle injury.
I've seen this reported as everything from a sprained ankle, a broken ankle. It is first reported that John tried
unsuccessfully to hang himself. This either in a hotel or in his home. In the course of this he suffered the
leg injury in the process. Where are the three boys? Andrew age nine, Alexander age seven, and Tanner
age five. John says a friend of his, Joanne Taylor, was put in charge of returning
the boys to Tanya's home. Joanne, of course, never arrives. In fact, apparently John knows little to nothing
about this Joanne person. John was a truck driver by occupation. According to John, this is someone who
he met when he came across her and Joannne's husband when they were having vehicle trouble. Their vehicle broke
down and he stopped and helped them. Well, John and Joanne then became friends afterward and maintained their
relationship via the internet. Tanya does not believe Jon's story. In fact, she fears that her sons may be lying
dead in John's home. The Morreny police search the home and they do not find the boys. What they do
find is a home of broken and destroyed furniture and household items. We're talking broken glass, smashed furniture,
a mattress cut and slashed with a knife, right? And it's not clear if the stuff was like smashed on that Wednesday and
Thursday or if it's been smashed for a while. Friday night at 11 p.m., an Amber Alert goes out for the three missing
skeleton boys. The following is an Amber Alert issued for the three sons of John and Tanya
Skelton of Moreny. Police are searching the neighborhood now. The FBI is on the way. An Amber Alert has been issued for
three young boys in Lenway County who are believed to be in extreme danger. Andrew Ryan Skelton, age nine. Alexander
William Skelton, age seven, and Tanner Lucas Skelton, age five, were reportedly last seen Friday at 2:30 p.m. with
Joanne Taylor, a woman who their father, John Skelton, met on the internet. The suspect was to return the children to
their mother, but the children have been missing since. Taylor is believed to be
a resident of either Jackson County or Hillsdale County and drives a silver van. Police say the father of the three
boys has been hospitalized following a suicide attempt. The missing children are all described as white males. Andrew
is 4'1 in tall, weighs 57 lb, and has brown eyes and hair. Alexander is 3'9 in tall, weighs 45 lb, has brown eyes and
hair, and has a scar on his hairline and on his chin. Tanner is 3' 6 in tall with blue eyes
and blonde hair. The Morreny Police Department is investigating and was to hold a news conference today. If you
have any information regarding the three missing children, the alleged abductor,
or the suspect's vehicle, please call 911, the Morreny Police Department at 5174582323,
or Lenoway County Dispatch at 517263524. At 1:30 a.m. early Saturday morning, the
Morreny Police Chief contacted Tanya. She was asked to get to the police department as soon as possible to
discuss the situation. This is because the local authorities want to try to get a handle on what was going on before the
feds came in. As you heard in the Amber Alert, they also stated that they contemplated even doing an Amber Alert
because that would set off everything. You're going to have all these searchers come in. You're going to have FBI come
in. Would this help or hinder what they're trying to do? Well, and we've seen this in plenty of other cases
before where you have to get certain information out to the public because you do need the public's help,
especially when you're looking for three missing persons, possible abductor, and
you have a description of the abductor's vehicle. Mhm. But then the problem with
that is when you are racing for time, when you feel like you are in a race against time to find these three missing
children, you run into the problem of could you be getting just frantic tips from the public, right? Tips that aren't
valuable to the actual case. With summer in full swing, you start to feel that familiar urge to refresh your
closet. But why waste money on pieces you'll only wear once or for just one season? That's where Quinc comes in.
Their clothes are timeless, feel luxurious, look elevated, and the quality is way beyond what you'd expect
for the price. Think 100% European linen tops starting at $30. Washable silk dresses and skirts and soft cotton
sweaters. Versatile warm weather pieces you'll reach for again and again. I love
shoppingquints.com/g. Use the /g garage for free shipping on your order. For summer, I got the mesh
performance training long sleeve tee for the gym. For the beach or poolside, I love the 100% European linen relaxed
short sleeve shirt. And for a nice sit-down dinner or a night out on the town, I like the long sleeve version of
the 100% European linen relaxed shirt. Shop women, men, home, baby, kids, travel, and gifts at quint.com/g.
Gifts are great through Quint because they have the 365day return policy. Give your summer closet
and upgrade with Quint. Go to quint.com/g for free shipping on your order and 365day returns. That's qnce.com/gage
to get free shipping on your order and 365day returns. quint.com/g. You know what doesn't belong in your
epic summer plans? Getting burned by your old wireless bill. While you're planning beach trips, barbecues, and
3-day weekends, your wireless bill should be the last thing holding you back. Make the switch to Mint Mobile.
With Mint, you can get the coverage and speed you're used to, but for way less money. And for a limited time, Mint
Mobile is offering three months of unlimited premium wireless service for 15 bucks a month. So while your friends
are sweating over data overages and surprise charges, you'll be chilling, literally and financially. Making the
switch to Mint Mobile is a nobrainer. You get the same great service that you're used to at a fraction of the
cost. I am saving $25 across two lines by making the switch to Mint Mobile this year. Skip breaking a sweat and breaking
the bank. Get this new customer offer and your 3month unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at
mintmobile.com/tcg. That's mintmobile.com/tcg. Upfront payment of $45 required, equivalent to $15 a month. Limited time
new customer offer for first three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Taxes and
fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. At Strayer University, we help students
like you go from is it possible to anything is possible by offering access to up to 10 nocost gened courses so you
can reach your goals affordably and fast. Visit strayer.edu to learn more. Nocost geneds provided by Strayer
University affiliate. Sophia. Eligibility rules apply. Connect with us for details. Straer University is
certified to operate in Virginia by Chev and has many campuses, including at 21215th Street North in Arlington,
Virginia. [Music] All right, we're back. Cheers, mates. Cheers to you, Captain. John's story,
John Skelton's story or stories regarding the location of the three boys Mhm. is a very difficult portion of this
case. Yeah. What is not difficult but is scary is law enforcement worked to track
John's cell phone and if his phone was moving at any point during the times when the boys were in his care. So
here's the scary part. On Friday, so the same day that the boys would later be reported missing early Friday morning.
We know John's phone was on the move. At 4:29 a.m., John's cell phone was approximately three miles from his home
on Congress Street and moving. At about 5:00 am, his phone is near Holiday City,
Ohio and Pioneer, Ohio. So, Holiday City is a tiny little town in northwest Ohio,
near the Michigan, Ohio state lines. Yeah. Holiday City is about seven or eight miles south of Michigan. And by
everything that's out there, John traveled straight from his house to this area. This is a place that he would have
drove through multiple times when he was a trucker. Yeah. And if you check the approximate travel time on any
directions or maps application, Mhm. you get, depending on the route, it's about
a 24 to 25 mile one-way trip that would take about 30 to 32 minutes of travel time. Mhm. which matching up perfectly
with what the cell phone evidence shows. 4:29 a.m. he is just about 3 miles from
his house. And then 31 minutes later, his phone is in Holiday City, Ohio. Then at 6:46 a.m., according to the evidence,
his cell phone is back at his house. So what we have here is John assuming he is
with his phone. He is in this Holiday City location for 70ome minutes and with no reason to be there and then he
returns home where later we are told after several communications with Tanya. He attempts to commit suicide fails,
injures himself and calls a friend to take him to the hospital. Yeah, your marriage has fallen apart. You don't
have custody of your children. Mhm. Well, you have part-time custody of your children. You lose your job.
And then something happens over this Thanksgiving. Mhm. And you go to a town in Ohio that you're familiar with,
right? But your story to the police is this person that you know that you gave your kids to, they met you they met you
at your house. They picked them up from your house, right? just doesn't make a lot of sense at all.
Well, that's a big part of the difficulty with his story and with this case. So, then the difficult thing
becomes when did he hand his children over to this woman? And just how complicated is his story? And could it
possibly be true? Well, there was this report. A possible sighting at this doughnut shop in Sandusky, Ohio of the
three skeleton boys may offer the first glimmer of hope that the brothers are still alive. Shop worker Sandy Jones
says she thinks she saw Tanner, Alexander, and Andrew in the store 3 days after Thanksgiving. The two older
ones were really, they didn't act like they wanted to come through that door when they first came in. Sandy says the
three were with a woman that they looked tired and hungry. The woman who was with
the boys even called Tanner by name. They kind of huddled together. The younger one kind of looked up and was
looking around. He just didn't know what he wanted at first. Like he wanted everything. And she kept saying, "Just
pick out your donut, Danner. Just pick out your donut." That's how only I know his name. And then it was funny when I
saw the newspaper. I'm like, "That's too much of a coincidence." Joan says she didn't know about the story until she
saw it in the paper after the holiday weekend. She then told her coworker and I said, "Stephanie, these little boys, I
swear, were in the doughnut shop." The owner of the doughnut shop is a former police officer. After Jones and the
owner talked it over, they filed this report, but not until several days after the sighting. I thought I was going
crazy. So, I waited and talked to him and he um the owner Terry and he was like, "You know what? They do look like
them." And we went around about the name again. And then we didn't know what to do because we didn't have we didn't know
the car or license plates and we didn't know if it could be any kind of help or not. And the more we thought about the
more we like know we need to call because it it it a chance that could have been them. As for the woman Jones
says she was disheveled. She was about 5 foot five 5' 6. Um like I said she looked like she was in her 40s. She
looked very um tired haggarded. Um she had dark scraggly hair that looked like it had just been dyed.
So, of course, police are working to confirm this tip. The boy's father, John Skelton, was caring for the boys when
they went missing back on Thanksgiving. His extradition hearing is scheduled for
December 14th. Governor Granholm is already expediting his All right, so I know you're all chuckling, but grow up.
Yes, a a former police officer owns a doughnut shop, but grow up if you're laughing about
that. And you can't you can't hear it on the clip that portion of the clip that we played, but at the very tail end of
that when he's done giving the report and he's going to turn it back over to the um you know the people in the
studio, the the news studio, he says Joanne, that's the the news anchor's name. So
kind of some ironic things inside that story itself. So well, let's just go over this eyewitness account. Do is do
we believe this at all? Well, so it's interesting for a few different reasons, right? At one, it's a sighting of three
boys. Mhm. At a doughnut shop. This is the House of Donuts in Sanduski, Ohio. It's not terribly far from Morreny,
Ohio. It's about 100 miles east. It's more east than southeast, but it's technically southeast. And Sanduski is
right on Lake Erie. So about a 100 miles away 3 days after Thanksgiving or 3 days after they went missing. I'm a
little uncertain of that point but of that portion but they're with a woman. So there's some things that are lining
up here to John's story. Three boys, not two, not one, you know, no other people reported with them. Not a little
girl, not a a grown man, not anybody else. three boys that this woman at the doughnut shop believes to be of the
appropriate age of the missing children with a disheveled looking woman who looks tired and the kids look tired as
well. Tired and hungry. Yeah, it seems more believable to me because yes, one they're with a woman, but that she's
saying one of the kids' names and that the person behind the counter picked up on that. Yeah. Yeah. And it must have I
mean the three kids as well as the woman must have stuck out like a sore thumb to
this eyewitness because she's kind of recalling this after the fact. She was unaware at the time that there were
missing people that could have been you know the or in the general area of where
this donut shot 100 miles away not terribly far. Right. But this is also one of the problems with the Amber Alert
is that you will get so many sightings. Mhm. And that could be a bad thing because when they should maybe be
looking closer like this search to me does doesn't make a lot of sense. They're searching so much of the
hometown. They're searching the the house. But we have cell phone ping technology
that puts him in in a whole another state and a whole another area that's very rural and we lose track of his cell
phone pings for about an hour and 45 minutes. Mhm. So the the phone either dies or gets turned off and we're in an
area that there's acres upon acres upon acres. This would be a perfect dumping ground if you're trying to hide bodies.
Mhm. Well, I I thought that we um the downtime, let's call it, of the cell phone information or evidence, right, is
closer to like 70 75 minutes. um because we we have to factor in the travel time
that's involved on the way to this location and then on the return trip to his home, right? So, we have that cell
phone moving as you say and and as we know the interesting thing here and you and I I agree with you because on the
surface it's like well why why are they I mean they got hundreds of searchers looking at his neighborhood looking in
the general vicinity of his home. I mean, we even have helicopters flying over and they did uh thermal searches as
well. You know, that's where they're going to be looking for any indication thermally of where they could find these
boys if they were being hid somewhere. But I think what we can deduce from this information that we have, not knowing
exactly what tactics police and searchers are going to actually implement, Mhm. is the Amber Alert and
the phone call from the police chief to Tanya, to the boy's mother, where we know the feds are coming in. We know the
FBI is coming in. So, what I believe we have here is a couple of things. Let's not just limit ourselves to one search
area. I believe the feds, the FBI was brought in because we do have information that there's a possibility
that these kids were taken against their will, be it with their father or or anyone else and they were taken possibly
across state lines from Michigan to Ohio. Right? Therefore, now we have an FBI situation. Kidnapping across state
lines, that's a double whammy for the FBI. So you bring them in and maybe they are the ones that are in charge of
searching the area that is across the state line where on the local level where you have local jurisdiction, you
can then police search grid search the neighborhood of John Scoutton. Well, the area in Ohio, it would probably be
better if you just search by helicopter and maybe some kind of um infrared. Yeah, the thermal Yeah, infrared. Um,
the other thing too to keep in mind here is as suspicious as the movements of his
cell phone are because of how early in the day that is, that's doesn't seem to be typical routine. He has no reason for
being in that area, right? As suspicious as that seems, you also have a bunch of
information saying, well, his cell phone was in the lo general area of his home for a much longer period of time when he
had the children. So, you can't overlook searching that immediate area. Right. Well, and then also it's not clear if he
left with his vehicle or did he get into uh somebody else's vehicle? Mhm. Right.
There's a situation where he says this lady came and picked him up from me. Oh, by the way, I went with him for a while.
Yeah. And then she brought me back home. But but also around this point, isn't this where he starts stating, "Hey, I
wanted to give them to this woman because my wife was abusing them." Well, that's where I think we need to go
through his story a little bit as well as some background information on the Skeleton family, right? Because let's
say that sighting that we the clip that we just played and I gotta I gotta tell you, Captain, right? Hearing that I'm
hopeful that there there's information in that sighting that that eyewitness told us sounds more legitimate than
most. Gives me cause for hope. Gives me cause to believe that her story is is spot on. Yeah. Makes me want donuts. So,
if we are to believe that this sighting is real and and and she was correct that
she did see the three boys, then we have to believe John's story, right? His explanation regarding the whereabouts of
the three boys. And here's what I here's what I will say to try to sum this up as
best as I can. Having looked at this for for a while now, I don't feel like I can say that it's a
changing story regarding John's story in a sense that it contradicts his original story. Right? But John's story
to me seems more to evolve rather than to change completely. So he first tells Tanya, he gave the kids to a friend of
his named Joanne, and she was in charge of driving the boys to Tanya's home. He gave them to Joanne because he was going
to commit suicide. That's the first story. Then we hear John tells investigators he gave the boys to a
foster care home, an underground foster care home because their mother Tanya was
abusing the boys. This is where we need the background information on the Skeleton family. So, this is both John's
and Tanya's second marriages, right? They've both been married before. John and Tanya, they had their first child
together after one year of marriage. So Andrew is the oldest, 9 years old at the
time of the disappearance. He's described as very smart and great in school. He loves video and computer
games and is very competitive when playing. He is very inquisitive and out of all the boys, he is the most timid
and quiet. Then you have Alexander, who was born just about 2 years after Andrew. He was seven at the time of the
disappearance. Alexander is the daredevil of the boys and he has a few stitches to prove it. He enjoys riding
and jumping on his bike, playing in the dirt, starting water fights. He's the one described as quote always getting
into trouble. But they say when it comes down to it, he is a lover. And Alex loves cell phones. Working or not, real
or fake, he loves cell phones or the idea of a cell phone. He often would play with a cell phone that were no
longer in service. He enjoys charging them and using the camera feature. Tanner is the little one, the littlest
one. And he was born just two years after Alexander. And Tanner is by far the storyteller of the three boys. He
has a great imagination. Gets that from his father. He can tell the most far out
stories or tell something that really happened. Uh he will get you to believe it and then we'll tell you no, it really
didn't happen and he'll he'll laugh at you, right? Like he's pranking you. Yeah. Tanner doesn't like tomatoes. He
will not eat anything if there are tomatoes in it or around it, including ketchup. Mhm. Tanner really looks up to
all of his siblings. He doesn't want to be left behind, so he is always trying to keep up and do what everyone else is
doing. Now, Jon and Tanya were married for 10 years before this all went down. Jon was married before and had a child.
Tanya speculates that Jon may have freaked out when it was likely that she and John were going to get a divorce and
she was going to get custody of the kids. She cites that's what happened in his first marriage. Tanya's story is
more complicated. Mhm. Tanya was married before and had two daughters in that previous relationship. These two
daughters are very, very close to Tanya to this day, but are much older than her
three boys. Tanya's first marriage ended because of criminal charges. Tanya had some kind of inappropriate actions and
behavior with a 14-year-old boy. When charged, she plead guilty and she did serve time in prison for this
offense. Right. And she is a registered sex offender in the state of Michigan. Yeah. According to everything I could
find, this is not something that Tanya hid from John. He knew about her background before they got married. He
knew about it before they had children. Yeah. So this is why that doesn't you I mean it's good that she didn't hide that
from him but at the same time it's like that's that's a very odd situation and very gross situation.
Well yeah and you know what's difficult for for me as I sit here in this garage chair after we've covered so many cases
and and I've been so hardcore of saying you know once a child molester always a child molester. Mhm. And you know that
that I may have put myself in a difficult position when discussing this case because I feel like
I I feel like we should I feel like we should give her credit for not being for not hiding this from him. You know what
I mean? It it deserves some credit because we have seen situations where well she has to register where she lives
and stuff like that. So he's going to find out eventually anyway. She might not be able to find out. And it's one of
those things where look, I mean, it's a it's a crime against a child. The the boy was 14 years old. Mhm. So, that's
that's awful. Yeah. And but at the same time, she in this case, she is a victim or possibly is a victim. And so, you
don't want to have it come across as victim blaming, right? Well, but ultimately this is why John tells law
enforcement he gave the boys to someone else to raise. Either because he feared losing them in the divorce or because he
was planning to commit suicide. And Tanya was abusing the boys. He didn't want them to live out the rest of their
days with her. Right. So now John, following his treatment for his injured leg, he was sent to a facility for
evaluation. Once released there, he is immediately taken into custody and held in jail because of the situation with
the missing boys. John's parents talk to him and they believe his side of the story. In fact, at some point, they say
that John told them previously about possible abuse in the household. Hence, that's his reasoning for wanting to take
the boys to Florida to set up a new life there. The police don't believe him. They they publicly announced that they
are unable to confirm that a Joanne Taylor even exists at all. Well, what we do know is his mother believes him, the
father believes him. Yes. And his sister believes him, they believe that that John is telling the truth. Correct.
Right. And not only does the not only does law enforcement come out and announce that
we don't believe that he gave his sons to this Joanne Taylor person, right? we can't confirm that she even exists. The
difficult thing about that for law enforcement is you you're kind of sitting on a fence there, right? Not so
much in that statement, but in the course of your investigation because you have to be sitting there wondering,
"Well, crap. Just because we can't confirm that this person exists doesn't mean that his story is not true.
What if he gave them to someone claiming to be Joanne Taylor?" Right? So the other thing though too that they
announce is that they fear that Jon has done something terrible terrible with the children. They don't believe that
the outcome they publicly state this. They don't believe that the outcome is going to be a good one. Meaning we
should be looking for bodies. And of course they had good reason to. Yeah. And I think the first part of that
good reasoning behind that comes from the cryptic Facebook post by John on that Wednesday on Wednesday, November
24th. Mhm. That said, "May God and Tanya forgive me." Well, that doesn't sound promising, does it? Right. But you
wonder if that is implying to towards the suicide that he eventually is going to try to commit the Yeah, that's a good
point. That's a very good point because some religions claim that, you know, taking your own life is a sin. So maybe
he's confessing his sin to his his God and and his wife. Well, and the other thing too is keep in mind
if it was an asking for forgiveness because of the suicide or the attempted suicide. Mhm. From
every indication I could find, it seems like John was still very much in love with Tanya during this time that he was
Yeah. focused on trying to get the family back together or get his marriage back together. So you could be very
right that it could be for asking for forgiveness for that act or I guess in a sense it could be asking for forgiveness
for giving the children away and then committing suicide. Right. Both. Right. So or Yeah. And and the thing too is you
could love your wife but know that she is sick on some level and that she's molesting the boys. then you you don't
want her to be around. But that doesn't mean that doesn't mean he can just shut off all the feelings that he had for
her. I mean, I would I mean it would be seconds. Oh, you're molesting kids. Oh, no feelings for you anymore. You can die
in rott in hell. Yeah. So, so may God and Tanya forgive me. That was the John Skeleton's Facebook message to the world
two days before he unsuccessfully tried to hang himself. It was also two days before the disappearance of his three
children. Right. Again, is he say is he also apologizing for him murdering the children? Right. I mean, we didn't bring
up that aspect. Well, and that's what I think most people take it as that that he's apologizing for murdering the
children and then also trying to take his own life. Well, and I think that's the the common initial reaction
that most would have. I know that that's the the initial reaction I had. Right. Now, the other reason to believe that
this outcome's not going to be a good one, as law enforcement stated, is what they found on John's computer. So, the
night before the boys disappeared. Now, keep in mind at this time, John is considered by law enforcement and by his
own admission to be the only adult in the home in his home with the computer that we are going to talk about at the
time of these two searches. Okay? And this is not verbatim, but one search was something to the effect of how to break
a neck or can you break someone's neck using your hands? [Music] Another I mean that's dark as hell and
again not very promising. Well, but right, but let me hold on. I'm gonna play a little devil's advocate here.
Yes, sir. the the night which we think was the Wednesday or maybe it was the Thursday.
He claims that he made the boys's favorite dinner and that they got fried chicken and he made a cake because it's
going to be one of the boys' birthdays soon and then they watched a karate movie. Mhm. Now, kung fu kung fu. Well,
well, they said karate movie, so I was actually guessing that they probably watched Karate Kid or something. But
think about it this way. You're watching Karate Kid. You're watching some kung fu
movie. You see a guy maybe break somebody's neck with some move and then you Google search it.
Well, that's his explanation. That's what John's explanation is when he's confronted with this information, right?
Why would you look that up if you didn't do something terrible to these boys? Well, we were watching a karate movie or
a kung fu movie. what he fails to provide, and I get I shouldn't fault him too much for this, but again, I've never
been in a room being questioned about a triple homicide that you're going to admit on air. What
he what he has what he fails to provide in his defense is the title of the movie
that he claims they were watching. Yeah. But anybody that has kids knows that sometimes you throw on a movie or a
movie's on TV and kids are watching it, they seem entertained and you're in the kitchen cleaning dishes and you're not
really part of the movie watching proc process, right? See what I'm saying? So it's like then if you went, "Oh, well,
what were they watching?" Well, I'm not really for sure cuz I wasn't really watching. I was doing the dishes or I
was cleaning the house or whatever was going on. Well, this seems like an awfully violent movie to be allowing
your three children under the age of 10 to watch. Oh, come on. What do you mean?
Everybody watch, you know, you don't think that's a fair assessment of this situation? No, I think I mean I'd be
like telling children they shouldn't watch WWE or something. Well, but I'm I'm stating we we also don't know the
title of the movie. So, if they're watching Karate Kid at the age of under 10, I'd say go for it. Yeah, but it it
can't be Karate Kid. And I'll tell you why. Because of what John says in his defense. He says the reason why that
there was a search on his computer for the phrase how to break a neck or can you break someone's neck using your
hands, the they're watching a karate type kung fu type movie, right? And in the movie,
somebody breaks someone's neck just with their hands, you know, like what is that
Steven Seagal Vanam kind of move there. And he says that it was at the kids asking him or not believing that that
was realistic what they were seeing on TV, you know, oh, you can't break somebody's neck with your bare hands or
or dad, can you actually do that? And so he says, "I Google searched it with the
boys, right, to see if that was even a real thing." Which sounds like I I know Mr. Miyagi was pretty tough on those
teenagers for beating up Daniel Son, but I don't remember any necks being snapped. I think he twisted one of their
necks. I I believe he did. And then again, you're talking about kids under the age of 10. They're coming up. They
don't have to see something verbatim to come up with a question. Oh, we saw this
guy twist this guy's neck. Hey, did he break his neck? I don't know. Can you break somebody's neck by twisting it?
Right. I don't know. Let's ask dad. That's all I'm saying. So, we have no clue what the title is. We don't have a
clue how violent it was. But again, I I wouldn't say that Karate Kid, for example, would be like a movie I
wouldn't want a 10-year-old to watch. Uh maybe Blood Sports, something different,
but you know, they're also little boys. That's what kind of movies they they like. Yeah. No, I'm not saying that you
not to let young children watch Karate Kid. I love the original Karate Kid, the first one. I one of my favorite movies.
And my father, who's pretty strict with what I could watch when I was little, um
sometimes his judgment was a little cloudy or my understandment understanding of his judgment was a
little cloudy because I recall watching uh Conan the Barbarian when I was in the Destroyer when I was
very little. And that's a pretty violent movie. Very violent. Um, but look at how
you turned out. So, the other thing here is there's another search on the computer
and that is for something to the effect of rat poison or can rat poison kill a human?
Mhm. Okay. Also very dark. Dark as hell. Not very promising. Again, John's explanation for this is this search on
the computer was again at the request of his three children that during the course of that same movie, somebody is
killed by poisoning or rat poison according to the movie that he's watching with the kids. And so they
search this to figure out if that can actually happen. Yeah. Well, my big problem with this search there, buddy,
is you made chicken. You made your boys's favorite meal. Seems like if you're gonna make your boys's favorite
meal or you're gonna make a a cake, right, for their birthday, these are things that are pretty simple to get
them to eat. Did you make these favorite things for them on purpose so you can put poison in there and then you took
their bodies once once they were poisoned? you took their bodies in the morning when nobody else was up and you
drove out to some field somewhere and you dumped them off. That that makes a lot of logical sense
to me. Well, and then on top of that, think about the state of the home when it was found. When they entered the
home, it was it looked like it was destroyed. Like somebody just in a tornado of rage just went through there
upending furniture and and tossing things and cutting things and breaking and smashing things. Is that a
very, you know, trite, juvenile, lame attempt at hiding some evidence or at least
confusing the scene, you know, right? Or were you losing your [ __ ] for so long
that you're busting plates, you know, when you got mad at them cuz cuz you couldn't control them. Mhm. Cuz you
weren't being such a good parent and everything in your life is crumbling and you're This guy seems so worried about
getting back together with somebody that didn't seem to give a [ __ ] about him.
It's like you could you could take that time and and refocus on being a better father or refocus that on on your career
or whatever. Yeah. But there's also guys that get into the state, guys and and girls will get to the state where
they're so desperate to be with somebody that everything is collapsing around them and and and that's all that
matters. Mhm. So did is every time that you called her that she said that she didn't want to get back together, are
you going into some other room and smashing up, you know, punching your hole through the wall or or smashing
some dishes or whatever, right? And and are you I who knows. So yeah. And did that that tornado of rage did that take
place after the phone call? Remember Tanya says that he at some point John speaks with her on the phone and says,
"Are you sure there's no chance that we can get back together?" Right? You know,
did that occur immediately after that or a result of something else? And from the
outside looking in, it appears like, you know, like you said, Tanya may care for him in on on some level,
but it appears that that she only cares for him as being the father of her three
boys, right? But this [ __ ] can't see that. And let me just give you some advice. Everybody out there, if you're
with somebody and they don't know if they want to be with you, here's what you do. And here's what you do every
time, 100% of the time, you go, "Okay, well, I'm going to go over here and work on myself. I'm going to focus on
myself." Cuz if they come back, you're going to be a better person anyways, and you're going to be better for them. And
if they don't come back, you're already going to be working on yourself. And it just seemed like this guy's world's
collapsing. And we've seen I was actually just listening to a show the other day where they're talking about,
you know, the the suicide rate for men jumps up dramatically after losing a job. And so
I would argue that if this guy is suicidal that he's possibly also homicidal. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, here's some advice
for the flip side of that coin. If you are with somebody and they love you completely, just let yourself go 100%.
When just let yourself completely go. Let yourself go. Regarding the things uh as for talking about like Homer Simpson,
just let yourself go. Don't ever listen to him go. Uh, regarding the things to kind of back up law enforcement
statement of not feeling like we're going to have a good outcome in this situation, there's another item, and
this is another cryptic message, if you want to call it that, but this is in the
form of what John Skelton tells his pastor, Donna Galloway. Remember, he's locked up shortly after the boys go
missing, shortly after his failed suicide attempt. And when he spoke, when Donna Galloway spoke to him, his
statement, John's statement refers to when it comes to the time frame in question that we're all wondering about,
John says there is a blank spot in his brain. It was like a big dark hole. Now, without going too far into that as
to what that could mean, because with a lot of John's statements, all we're left with saying is, "Well, what
could this mean? It doesn't straight up, it's not it's not straight and to the point, right? This is there's a big
blank spot in my brain. There's a big dark hole. What does that mean?" Well, it sounds like OJ actually. Yeah. You
know, in OJ's book where he is confessing to the murders, he states, "Oh, well then I blacked out. Then when
I come to there, they were dead. Blood everywhere." It's like, did he have a blackout for hours? Right. I mean, do we
have any evidence of him using drugs or possibly alcohol? Uh, it's from the information I could
find, he was a drinker. I don't think he was a a big big drinker. Mhm. Um, no indication of drug use that I could
find. But again, this is not a promising statement. And like you said, you referenced OJ. We've we've read several
stories where somebody later states for some reason, you know, I feel like it did something bad. I just don't know
what it is. I can't recall what it is. There's a period of time I don't know what I was doing. I don't know if if I
was awake. I don't know if I was asleep, you know. So, this is uh another dark, very dark statement. Well, you'd think
they'd be able to test for fluids found at the scene. And you would assume that if he, let's say, he did try to poison
these kids that a lot of the reaction would be throwing up and that we'd at least have some evidence of that
happening at the house. I mean, yes, you could clean that up, but it didn't look
like he cleaned up much in that house, right? So, there must not be any evidence of that. And they did. I mean,
they've searched that place from top to bottom. Well, and what's also it's a small town, so they probably know all
his whereabouts because of the cell phone pings and they probably know everything he probably purchased. So,
I'd be interested to know if he even purchased poison or it's again it's a logical answer.
You're you're um watching a movie with your kids, they ask you a question. Hey, can you can you twist somebody's neck
and and kill them? Right. Uh no, you can't. Or yes, you can. Um then you go, oh, we saw this day on the movie. Can
you kill somebody with rat poison? It might not not even be in the movie. It could. I mean, this is the kind of
questions that kids come up with. I mean, anytime I pick up my nephew and it's like it's a 10-minute drive, I
think he asked me 20 questions that are impossible to answer, you know? So, it's
it's so weird because it's a logical answer, but on the flip side, it's a logical
explanation what what could have happened to these poor boys. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Well, you referenced that this is
a small town. Just to give those of you out there that are not familiar with this because I wasn't super familiar
with this area either. Well, with this town of Morreny. I've been to Michigan. I go to Michigan twice a year. Great
state. Best place to go in summertime is Michigan in my opinion. But Morreny is like a town of like 2,000 people. It's a
town that's like two square mi, you know, two miles by two miles by, you know, it's a two square mile town,
right? Tiny little town. Everybody's got to know everybody's business. And like you said, had he purchased anything that
would go along with those searches on his computer with what their suspicions were. If they would have found any signs
of vomiting or certain fluids inside that home, be it blood or anything like that, he
probably would be facing murder charges or something to that effect, right? Because they already got this guy locked
up. And then the other thing regarding the cell phone movements on that day in question, that early morning Friday that
that you have pointed out, that I have pointed out is so suspicious. John has an answer for everything. John says
regarding his cell phone going to Holiday City early Friday, November 26th. Well, that's easily explained
because someone I know, a friend of mine borrowed my vehicle. I forgot that my cell phone was in the vehicle. Who was
your friend? Who borrowed your vehicle? Can we talk to them? And then John says,
I can't tell you who that is. [Music] We're just getting started with this case. So, tune in tomorrow. We'll see
you back in the garage. Until then, be good, be kind, and don't litter. [Music] At Strayer University, we help students
like you go from is it possible to anything is possible by offering access to up to 10 nocost gened courses so you
can reach your goals affordably and fast. Visit strayer.edu to learn more. No cost genides provided by Strayer
University affiliate Sophia. Eligibility rules apply. Connect with us for details. Strayer University is certified
to operate in Virginia by Chev and has many campuses including at 21215th Street North in Arlington, Virginia.

The Skelton Brothers /// Part 1

Episode: 280

Original Release: 2-19-2019

Part 1 of 2

www.TrueCrimeGarage.com (http://www.truecrimegarage.com/)

Andrew age 9, Alexander age 7, and Tanner age 5 were taken by the father from his Morenci, Michigan home during the Thanksgiving holiday visitation back in 2010. Their father John, claims the boys were abused by their mother and he was getting them out of a bad situation. However John’s story does not add up. Law Enforcement does not believe him and today John sits behind bars. This week we crack a beer and discuss this stranger than fiction true crime story.

Beer of the Week - Hopsoulution Ale - Bell’s Brewery INC. Garage Grade - 4 out of 5 bottle caps

Beer Fund: https://truecrimegarage.com/home

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brief Summary

John Skelton's three sons went missing after Thanksgiving 2010, leading to a complex investigation into their father's actions and mental state.

Key points

John Skelton's Cryptic Message. John Skelton's last Facebook post raises concerns about his mental state and the safety of his children.
The Disappearance of the Skelton Boys. Three young boys go missing after a series of troubling events involving their father.
The Amber Alert Dilemma. Local authorities weigh the pros and cons of issuing an Amber Alert.
John's Suspicious Movements. John's cell phone activity raises red flags during the investigation.
Possible Sighting of the Boys. A doughnut shop worker claims to have seen the missing boys days after Thanksgiving.
John's Evolving Story. John's account of the boys' whereabouts changes over time, raising suspicion.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I love my wife very much. May God and Tanya forgive me.

John Skelton's last Facebook post before the boys went missing.

4:19WatchJul 1, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

More from True Crime Garage TV

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.