The Skelton Brothers /// Part 1 /// 280 | Forensic Files

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talk some true [Music] [Music] [Music] crime well investigators from multiple agencies spent all evening here at the
Home in Morenci where the boys were last scen 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 Morenci 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 Morenci 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 skeleton 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've 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 little boys
are not [Music] known the key persons in this Cas are John Skelton his wife Tanya and their
three sons Andrew Alexander and Tanner the boys are young ages 9 7 and 5 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 JN shows up and checks the boys out telling the school that the family was going on
vacation to Florida John 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 3 week 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 JN 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 T but before JN could be serve 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 John 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 judges 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 two two at Great Lengths we we do have JN 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 3-we vacation but
while I'm down there because now mind you this is September right school starts around that time for these boys
so T's wondering what are you doing taking the kids out of school school just started you're taking them on a 3E
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 MH you know asking why would you go on this 3-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 him up for
school 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 JN is still
trying to determine if they could get back together they are not living together but T 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 at the family's home
with the three boys right now T 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 than 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 John would attempt to leave to Florida
again with the kids as she believe 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 John counseling and he seemed to be open to
the idea remember it appears John had an interest in getting back together with Tanya Tanya 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
20110 the boys are at Tanya's parents' home that morning until JN can pick them up later that day around 5:00 p.m. 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 JN and according to her JN 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 John 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 JN 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 MH 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 p.m. that morning however T 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 and the boys up and they were out having fun now please keep in mind as we go through
this this is T and John having multiple conversations that day because later that day he says the boys are still with
his friends MH that he John is home and his friend is scheduled to drop the kids
off at his place at 300 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 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 tan 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 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 3:00 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 John checks himself
in seeking treatment for an ankle injury I've seen seen this reported as everything from a sprained ankle a
broken ankle it is first reported that Jon 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 Joanne's husband when they were having vehicle trouble their vehicle broke down and he stopped and helped
them well well John and Joanne then became friends afterward and maintained their relationship via the Internet
Tanya does not believe John's story in fact she fears that her sons may be lying dead in John's home M the Morenci
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 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 11:00 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 morenzi police are searching the neighborhood now the FBI is on the way an amber alert has been
issued for three young boys in lenaway County who are believed to be in extreme danger Andrew Ryan Skelton age n
Alexander William Skelton age s 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 lbs and 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 Morenci 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 Suspects vehicle please call 9911 the Morenci police department at
51745 2323 or lenaway County dispatch at 517 263 0524 at 13 a.m. early Saturday morning
the Morenci police chief contacted T 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
with 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 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 [Music] case this show is sponsored by better help do
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Angie [Music] that all right we're back cheers mates cheers to you Captain John's story John
Skelton story or stories regarding the location of the three boys m is a very difficult portion of this case yeah what
is not difficult but is scary is law enforcement worked to track Jon'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 3 mil from his home on Congress Street and moving at about 5:00 a.m. 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 7 or 8 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 M 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 mil 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 70 some minutes and with no reason to be there and then he returns
home where later we are told after several Communications with t he attempts to commit suicide fails injures
himself and calls a friend to take him to the hospital yeah your marriage is 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 this 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 donut shop in s dusy 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 are 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 dut that's how only reason I know his name and then it
was funny when I saw the newspaper I'm like that's too much of a coincidence Jones 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 I said
these little boys I swear were in The Donut Shop the owner of the dnut 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 no we need to call because it it it it's a chance it could have been them as for
the woman Janes says she was disheveled she was about 5' 5 5' 6 um like I said she looked like she was in her 40s she
looked very very um tired hagger um she had dark scraggly hair that looked like had just been died 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 exped
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 m
that's 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 MH at a doughnut shop this is the house of donuts in sanduski Ohio it's not
terribly far from Morenci Ohio it's it's about 100 miles east it's more East than
Southeast but it's technically Southeast and sandusk is right on lake eie 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 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 pick 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 that or in the general area of
where this dut shop is 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 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 in 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 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 T 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 Skelton well the area in Ohio it' probably be better if you just search by
helicopter and maybe some kind of um infrared yeah the thermal infrared s 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 it seems you also have a bunch of information saying well his cell phone was in the loc general area of his home
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 a somebody else's vehicle mhm
right there 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 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 got to I got to 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 Jon'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 Jon's
story in a sense that it contradicts his original story right but J's story to me
seems more to evolve rather than to change completely mhm 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 T'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 for John and T 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 M
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 will 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 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 John and Tanya were married for 10 years
before this all went down John was married before and had a child Tanya speculates that JN 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 M Tanya was married before
and had two daughters in that previous relationship these two daughters are very very close to T to this day but are
much older than her three boys Tanya's first marriage ended because of of criminal charges Tanya had some kind of
inappropriate actions and behavior with a 14-year-old boy when charged she plad 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 t 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 Ian 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 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 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 mm 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 blamy
right well but ultimately this is why John tells law enforcement he gave the boys to someone else to raise either
because he fear 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 MH the police don't believe him they they publicly announce that they are unable to confirm that a Joanne
Taylor even exist 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 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 this 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 from every indication I could find it seems like John was still very
much in love with t 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 MH 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 rot in hell yeah so so may God and Tanya forgive me that was the
John skelton'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 that 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 JN is
considered by law enforcement and by his own admiss 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 another I mean that's dark as hell and again not very promising well but right but let me hold on I'm going to
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' birthday soon and then they watched a
karate movie mhm kung fu kung fu well well they said karate movie so I was actually guessing
that they probably I watched Katey kid or something but think about this way you're watching Katey kid you're
watching some K 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 failed 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 Adit 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 and cleaning dishes and you're not really part of the
movie watching Pro 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
the situation no I I mean i''d be like telling children they shouldn't watch WWE or something well but I'm I'm
stating 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 go
for it yeah but 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 Katey kid for example would be like a a movie I wouldn't want
a 10-year-old to watch U 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 mm 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 going to make
your boys's favorite meal or you're going to make a a cake right for 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 poison 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 their upending
furniture and and tossing things and cutting things and breaking and smashing things is that
a very you know trit 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 and 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 mean who knows so yeah and did that that tornado of Rage did that take place
after the 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 she only cares for him as being the father of her three
boys right but [ __ ] 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% just let yourself completely go let your go regarding the things uh as for
talking about like Homer Simpson just let yourself go don't ever listen to him 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 the 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 straighten 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 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 mhm and they probably know everything he probably purchased so I'd be interested
to know if he even purchased poison or it's a good 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 thing on the movie can you kill somebody with rat poison it might
not not even be in the movie mhm it could I mean this is the kind of questions that kids come up with I mean
any time 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 cuz I wasn't super familiar
with this area either well with this town of Moren M 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 morenzi is like a town of
like 2,000 people it's a town that's like two square m 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 [Music] litter [Music] you can live out your Master Chef
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that

The Skelton Brothers /// Part 1 /// 280

Part 1 of 2

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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

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Brief Summary

Three brothers went missing in Michigan during Thanksgiving 2010, with their father John Skelton's actions raising suspicions about their fate.

Key points

John Skelton's Last Facebook Post. John Skelton's cryptic message raises alarms about his mental state and the safety of his children.
Tanya's Determination. Tanya fights to keep her children safe amid a tumultuous custody battle.
Amber Alert Issued for Missing Boys. An Amber Alert goes out for Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner Skelton, raising community alarm.
Race Against Time. The urgency of finding three missing children intensifies as frantic tips flood in.
Possible Sighting of Missing Boys. A donut shop employee believes she saw the three missing boys with a woman.
John's Alibi Unravels. John's conflicting stories about his children's whereabouts raise suspicions.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Anytime you have children this old that are not with a caring loved one...

A community member expresses concern for the missing boys.

4:50WatchNov 16, 2023

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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