Latest / Least of These / 224. “Clandestine Operation” The Case of the Skelton Brothers - Morenci, Michigan [Part 2 of 2]

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224. “Clandestine Operation” The Case of the Skelton Brothers - Morenci, Michigan [Part 2 of 2] · Least of These

0:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to least of these, where I cover the cases that need it most, because every life matters in everyone deserves justice.
0:08
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm your host Leah D. and today I'll be bringing you the conclusion of the case of the skeleton brothers and Marancy Michigan.
0:15
[SPEAKER_01]: If you haven't heard part one, you probably want to skip back in episode and meet us right back here.
0:20
[SPEAKER_01]: And with that said, let's get right to it.
1:01
[SPEAKER_01]: After nine-year-old Andrew, seven-year-old Alexander, and five-year-old Tanner vanished while visiting their father, 39-year-old John Schultzen, over Thanksgiving of 2010.
1:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Days later on November 29, John was arrested and ultimately charged with three counts of unlawful imprisonment.
1:20
[SPEAKER_01]: He was extradited back to Michigan from Ohio and held on a $3 million bond.
1:26
[SPEAKER_01]: At the time, police chief Larry Weeks announced to the public that after multiple interviews with John, investigators didn't anticipate a positive outcome in locating the boys.
1:37
[SPEAKER_01]: John had lied repeatedly and claimed the boys were with a woman named Joanne Taylor, a woman authorities believed John himself had made up.
1:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Investigators agents and volunteers had searched numerous locations in both Michigan where John lived, along with locations in Ohio, the last place John Scoutson's phone had peamed before it was shut off the night the three boys disappeared.
2:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Over 425 volunteers in a number of agencies had searched relentlessly for the boys, but had found nothing.
2:10
[SPEAKER_01]: At the same time, John's electronic devices were analyzed and investigators interviewed anyone and everyone who had contact with John in the months leading up to the disappearance of the boys.
2:21
[SPEAKER_01]: They uncovered a treasure trove of disturbing information, and were able to build a timeline revealing John's mindset from that September when he first attempted to take the boys to Florida without his wife Tanya's permission.
2:34
[SPEAKER_01]: All the way through the time he was taken to the
2:38
[SPEAKER_01]: After his alleged suicide attempt, you know the one in which he hurt his ankle.
2:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Anyhow, let's go over that timeline from the beginning.
2:47
[SPEAKER_01]: On September 13, 2010, John checked the three boys out of school headed for Florida.
2:54
[SPEAKER_01]: That same day, Tanya filed for divorce, and John did end up taking the older two Andrew and Alexander, but Tanya got temporary custody and went and got the boys and took them back to
3:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Remember, though Tanya had filed for divorce, there were talks of reconciliation and a visitation agreement had been worked out.
3:15
[SPEAKER_01]: But his time passed, it became pretty clear that Tanya wasn't going to get back with John.
3:19
[SPEAKER_01]: According to court testimony on October 30, 2010, John created a Yahoo email account in his own name on his computer from an IP address that came back to his
3:34
[SPEAKER_01]: A week later on November 6, another Yahoo email account was created from that same IP address this time in the name of Joanne Taylor.
3:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Also on November 6, a profile was created on a website, again, same IP address.
3:51
[SPEAKER_01]: That website was Cafe Mom, which was a forum where moms went to share recipes, tips and advice on raising children and that kind of thing.
4:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Anyhow, Tanya Skelton was active on Cafe Mom, and of course her husband, John, would know that, but John didn't create that profile in his own name.
4:12
[SPEAKER_01]: The screen name was Mom Forever Young.
4:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Ten days after that profile was created on November 16th, a message was sent to Tanya from the profile, and the message Mom Forever Young claimed her name was Joanne.
4:28
[SPEAKER_01]: The same day the initial message was sent to Tanya disturbing searches were made on the computer.
4:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Searches for potassium cyanide, the availability of prosthetic acid, and a search asking, is rat poison tasteless and odorless, and can rat poison kill a person.
4:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Three days later on November 19, a message was left for Tanya from the mom forever young profile.
4:52
[SPEAKER_01]: That afternoon, Tanya responded and asked, who are you?
4:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Mom forever young said, I'm Joanne Taylor, and then went on to tell a story about how she had met John Skeleton, telling the story John Skeleton told police that she had met John after he stopped to help her and her husband when they had car trouble.
5:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Mom forever young aka Joanne Taylor aka John went on to say that when John stopped to help them, she slash he noticed a cafe mom sticker on the van.
5:23
[SPEAKER_01]: So apparently that's what led mom forever young to seek tenure out in cafe mom.
5:29
[SPEAKER_01]: The following day, so that brings us to November 20th, more computer searches were made.
5:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Search is for how to break a neck, how can you break someone else's neck with your hands, neck and spine, spinal cord, cerebellum, and brain and brain stem.
5:46
[SPEAKER_01]: The next day, November 21st, a 911 call was placed from the home on Congress Street,
5:53
[SPEAKER_01]: According to court testimony, seven-year-old Alexander had called to report his father missing and said that he was worried.
6:00
[SPEAKER_01]: When officers arrived, however, John was at the home.
6:04
[SPEAKER_01]: He reassured the officer that he had told the boys he was going outside, but there must have been some kind of miscommunication.
6:11
[SPEAKER_01]: hindsight is always 2020, but looking back maybe this was the first outward sign that something was really off.
6:19
[SPEAKER_01]: What had led Alexander a seven year old to be so concerned when his father had only been gone for a few moments?
6:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Whatever the reason, by the time the officer arrived, it didn't appear anything was wrong, so after making contact with John and the boys, he left.
6:36
[SPEAKER_01]: The boys were with Tanya for the next few days and returned to John on November 24th to start their Thanksgiving celebration, per the agreement John had worked out with Tanya.
6:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Also, on November 24th, John posted on Facebook, I love my wife very much, may God
6:55
[SPEAKER_01]: That same day, John sent an email to a friend in North Carolina that read.
7:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Killing myself tonight, but right now I'm fine.
7:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Unfortunately, none of this was brought to the attention of authorities at the time.
7:08
[SPEAKER_01]: 230pm on November 25th was the last time anyone outside of the family physically saw the boys.
7:16
[SPEAKER_01]: John's neighbor Adam saw them playing outside in the backyard.
7:20
[SPEAKER_01]: The neighbor also heard that Cardor slam at John's at around 11.30 that night.
7:26
[SPEAKER_01]: Between 110 and 14 AM on November 26th, a message was created at Cafe Mom from the mom for every young account.
7:34
[SPEAKER_01]: The message read.
7:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Glad you won't have your boys to fondle or sleep with.
7:40
[SPEAKER_01]: John just dropped his sons off with me and I'll be watching them until he returns.
7:45
[SPEAKER_01]: That message was created, but not yet centetania.
7:49
[SPEAKER_01]: It was just sitting there in the drafts.
7:52
[SPEAKER_01]: At 137 AM, John Skeleton visited a few websites.
7:57
[SPEAKER_01]: He accessed all recipes and marriage to day.com.
8:01
[SPEAKER_01]: On marriage today, he viewed an article titled,
8:06
[SPEAKER_01]: As we went over last week at 413 that morning, John's phone pinged at his home on Congress Street.
8:13
[SPEAKER_01]: At 429 AM, the phone moved 3.3 miles away from the house.
8:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Between 501 and 504 that morning, the phone pinged near lazy river campground just outside of Holiday City, Ohio.
8:25
[SPEAKER_01]: At the same time, a relative drove by John's house and noted that his
8:33
[SPEAKER_01]: There was no traceable activity on the phone after that 504 ping near Lazy River Campground until 646 AM when the phone was back at 112 Congress Street.
8:44
[SPEAKER_01]: The phone had been shut off for nearly an hour and 45 minutes until John returned home.
8:50
[SPEAKER_01]: At 702 AM, the message created at Cafe Mom
8:59
[SPEAKER_01]: At 7.15 AM, John dropped off the boy's winter coats and toothbrushes with his aunt.
9:05
[SPEAKER_01]: At 8.54 AM, John sent a message to an internet friend that said, I'll be dead in 10 minutes, just letting people know.
9:12
[SPEAKER_01]: At 11 AM, Tanya reached out and asked John if she could pick up the boy's at 1pm instead of 3.
9:19
[SPEAKER_01]: That's when John told her that the kids were with a friend north of Jackson, Michigan,
9:23
[SPEAKER_01]: And a subsequent message, John wrote, things are real complicated right now.
9:28
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm on the way to Fulton Hospital.
9:30
[SPEAKER_01]: I wasn't honest with you.
9:32
[SPEAKER_01]: I've been waiting for the boys to come home too.
9:34
[SPEAKER_01]: At 11-12 a.m., the last login was made at mom cafe from the mom for every young profile.
9:41
[SPEAKER_01]: At 121pm, John caught his aunt and asked for a ride to the hospital.
9:46
[SPEAKER_01]: She couldn't take him and told him to call someone in the family name Kelsey.
9:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Kelsey did take John to the hospital and on the way he told her that Tanya would be upset with him because the boys had been Thanksgiving at a friend's house.
10:00
[SPEAKER_01]: By 330 pm, Tanya and her sister were at the house on Congress Street looking for the boys, and by 4 pm, the police were involved.
10:08
[SPEAKER_01]: As we went over last week, police found the house and complete this array.
10:13
[SPEAKER_01]: Everything broke in, courts cut, the mattress shredded to pieces with a knife, the suicide note, and the roses affixed to the wall.
10:21
[SPEAKER_01]: When John was asked where the boys were, he told all those stories about Joey and Taylor, the old schoolhouse, the dumpster, and questioned whether or not he was a child killer in a monster.
10:31
[SPEAKER_01]: As devastating as it is, it's easy to see why chief weeks wasn't hopeful that the boys would be found alive.
10:38
[SPEAKER_01]: And after that November 27th interview with John just before he was taken into custody, John refused to tell investigators anything else about the location of Andrew Alexander and Tanner.
10:50
[SPEAKER_01]: But in December of 2010 during a court hearing on the case, John Skeleton did make several statements concerning the whereabouts of his children, and surprise surprise, his story changed yet again,
11:04
[SPEAKER_01]: CBS News reported that during the preceding, John told the judge that he had given his children to an organization to protect them from their mother who was sexually abusing them.
11:14
[SPEAKER_01]: But John won't elaborate on what this organization was or where the boys were now, at least not at this time.
11:22
[SPEAKER_01]: But a new month would bring a new story.
11:47
[SPEAKER_01]: According to court testimony on January 17, 2011, nearly two months after the boy's had vanished, John Skeleton sat down for another interview with police.
11:58
[SPEAKER_01]: This time he acknowledged that the Joian Taylor story was completely made up, and that he had lied, but claimed it was all for a good reason.
12:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Joanne Taylor was a cover story for a quote, Clandestine Operation, To move the boys to a secret organization that protects children.
12:17
[SPEAKER_01]: John told investigators that he was at a truck stop near Niles, Michigan, eating in a restaurant, when he spoke to a man who had connections to a secret organization that could move kids safely.
12:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Apparently, John told this secret squirrel man that he needed help moving his children,
12:37
[SPEAKER_01]: John claimed to begin receiving non-descript envelopes in the mail and paperwork with instructions on what to do and a cell phone with a pre-program number.
12:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Part of the instructions he had received was to burn some of the items he had been sent and to return others.
12:53
[SPEAKER_01]: According to John, he had followed those instructions so he could provide no evidence of any of these secret communications because he had either sent it back or burned all of it.
13:03
[SPEAKER_01]: but he knew his boys were safe.
13:05
[SPEAKER_01]: He went on to tell investigators that Andrew Alexander and Tanner had been taken to United Foster Outreach and Underground Sanctuary's.
13:14
[SPEAKER_01]: An organization apparently so secretive that even the FBI National Center for Missing and Exploded Children, the Michigan State Police and the numerous other law enforcement agencies involved in this case couldn't find.
13:27
[SPEAKER_01]: No shred of evidence was ever recovered, even suggesting this organization had ever existed.
13:32
[SPEAKER_01]: And of course, John couldn't provide that either, because, well then I guess it wouldn't be a secret.
13:39
[SPEAKER_01]: If the jolly and Taylor story was stupid, this one was ass-in-ine.
13:44
[SPEAKER_01]: As the months passed with no sign of the boys, the community held searches and candlelight visuals.
13:50
[SPEAKER_01]: And Tanya held out hope that her three boys were still alive, that they were out there somewhere, telling the Detroit Free Press that the John Sheenu wouldn't hurt them.
13:59
[SPEAKER_01]: But as time passed, it was becoming more and more unlikely that the boys would be found alive.
14:05
[SPEAKER_01]: In July of 2011, John Scelton took a plea deal.
14:09
[SPEAKER_01]: He pled no contest to three counts of false imprisonment and an exchange prosecutors dropped the kidnapping charges.
14:16
[SPEAKER_01]: According to the Charlie Project, if the original charges had been left on the table, John Scelton could have faced life in prison.
14:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Instead, he was sentenced to 15 years.
14:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Now that term definitely exceeded the state sentencing guidelines.
14:33
[SPEAKER_01]: It was clear that law enforcement, as well as the judicial system, believed John had done something to harm the boys.
14:40
[SPEAKER_01]: But even at sentencing, John scuttled and denied that.
14:43
[SPEAKER_01]: He told the court that his children were still alive, but would never be returned as long as their mother had custody of them.
14:51
[SPEAKER_01]: John was sent to prison, but the
14:55
[SPEAKER_01]: One year to the date that Andrew Alexander and Tanner vanished, investigators went to the intersection, John would have traveled the night he let his home throw higher.
15:04
[SPEAKER_01]: They went out around the same location, around the same time they believed John passed through that stretch of road.
15:11
[SPEAKER_01]: They stopped vehicles and passed out flyers, hoping someone out there could tell them something that could lead them to the brothers.
15:18
[SPEAKER_01]: But no one did.
15:19
[SPEAKER_01]: The years continued to pass with no sign of the
15:25
[SPEAKER_01]: In December of 2013, Chief Larry Weeks left the Marinsey Police Department.
15:30
[SPEAKER_01]: When he did, he officially handed the case over to the Michigan State Police.
15:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, MSP had been assisting since the beginning, but Marinsey PD had been the lead.
15:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, the Michigan State Police would take over the case.
15:45
[SPEAKER_01]: The skeleton brother's case was assigned to MSP Detective Jeremy Brewer.
15:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Detective Brewer painstakingly went over every file, every interview, every piece of evidence that had been collected over the years.
15:58
[SPEAKER_01]: At the same time, Leeds continued to come in.
16:01
[SPEAKER_01]: In 2015, a baseball was found in a rural area near the Lazy River Campground, close by where John's phone had last pinged before it was shut off.
16:12
[SPEAKER_01]: The ball was tested and bound to be unrelated to the boys.
16:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Three years later in 2018, a box containing the bones and teeth of three children were found in a shed behind a home in Mazula, Montana.
16:26
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, Montana was a far cry from the Ohio Michigan area where the boys were last seen.
16:32
[SPEAKER_01]: But when testing revealed that the bones of the children were male, and in the age range of the skeleton brothers, DNA from the brothers was sent for comparison, and everyone held their breath.
16:43
[SPEAKER_01]: From behind bars, Sean Skeleton told WDIVTV that the bones did not belong to his boys, and for once he was right.
16:52
[SPEAKER_01]: that DNA testing ultimately ruled out Andrew Alexander and Tanner.
16:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Further testing at the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification revealed that the facial bone fragments in teeth were more than 99 years old, forensic scientists believe that the youngest child was native American.
17:10
[SPEAKER_01]: This couldn't have been the skeleton brothers.
17:14
[SPEAKER_01]: After learning the case for it and backward, Detective Jeremy Brewer sat down multiple times to talk to John, and during one interview, John had a whole new story.
17:23
[SPEAKER_01]: He told the detective that the group who had taken his voice had once contacted him and told him that a man named most Gingrich had his voice.
17:33
[SPEAKER_01]: He went on to say that one of the individuals had showed him a picture of most Gingrich and said, this is who you need to contact if you want to get your voice back.
17:42
[SPEAKER_01]: It was definitely an interesting story, and one that should have been easily verifiable.
17:48
[SPEAKER_01]: All it took was a quick Google search for Detective Brewer to find most Gingrich.
17:53
[SPEAKER_01]: You see, most Gingrich was a TV personality documentary and an author.
17:58
[SPEAKER_01]: He was born and raised omnisch and had documented his escape from the omnisch on television, and then went on to set up a foundation with his wife to help others leave.
18:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Mose Gingrich didn't seem like the kind of guy who would be working for some secret organization, especially considering the fact that his name and photo had been plastered all over the TV and internet.
18:19
[SPEAKER_01]: It would have been easy for Detective Brewer to just dismiss John in this crazy new story, but he didn't.
18:28
[SPEAKER_01]: He called most who at the time was an Arkansas working as a truck driver.
18:33
[SPEAKER_01]: After a short conversation over the phone, most was all in to try and help police find the missing boys.
18:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Detective Brewer set up another interview with John.
18:43
[SPEAKER_01]: During this interview, the detective told John that they had tracked down most King Rich and John responded, well, that he'd find the boys?
18:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Detective Brewer answered, no, but I brought him here to speak with you.
18:58
[SPEAKER_01]: At that point, according to Court testimony, John became white as a ghost, couldn't form a sentence and was visibly shaking.
19:05
[SPEAKER_01]: He looks scared to death.
19:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Just like he did when he was confronted after telling the Joanne Taylor Nightmare Dumps her story.
19:13
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, his reaction was so strong, the detective brewer thought it may get to a point where John needed medical intervention.
19:21
[SPEAKER_01]: At that point, most gangage stepped into the room.
19:25
[SPEAKER_01]: He'd been flown into confront John and that's exactly what he did.
19:29
[SPEAKER_01]: He told John that he had no idea about any secret group and no involvement in the disappearance of the boys.
19:37
[SPEAKER_01]: But all John could say was that this mysterious group had given him a photo of Mose and with his back against the wall, he eventually just shut down.
19:45
[SPEAKER_01]: This shutting down when confronted was a common theme for John, investigators would later recall that he'd talked to them about anything under the sun, but when it came to the boys or his lies about their whereabouts, John's skeleton would clam up and suddenly have nothing to say.
20:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Mose King Rich obviously had no knowledge or connection to any secret underground group.
20:09
[SPEAKER_01]: He didn't know this group and certainly didn't know John Skeleton.
20:13
[SPEAKER_01]: But investigators thought they had a pretty good idea of how John knew Mose.
20:18
[SPEAKER_01]: As it turned out, one of the TV shows most had been on was one inmates at the prison had access to.
20:24
[SPEAKER_01]: This was just another story cooked up by John, and an attempt to explain the whereabouts of the three children who were in his custody when they disappeared, a very shitty attempt at that, and investigators were back to square one.
20:59
[SPEAKER_01]: As the years continued to pass, Tanya clung to a shred of hope that her sons were still alive, but that hope fizzled out with time and John's ever-changing stories.
21:14
[SPEAKER_01]: And Tanya ultimately became convinced that her three sons were deceased.
21:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Nearly 15 years after their disappearances, Tanya petitioned the court to have Andrew Alexander and Tanya declared dead.
21:28
[SPEAKER_01]: In March of 2025, a hearing on the matter was held in a Michigan Pro-Bate court.
21:34
[SPEAKER_01]: John Schelton joined those proceedings from behind bars over Zoom, but was only there long and up to tell Judge Catherine Sala that he wasn't going to participate.
21:43
[SPEAKER_01]: He stated, everyone has lawyers, I don't, I'm at a disadvantage.
21:48
[SPEAKER_01]: And that was all she wrote.
21:50
[SPEAKER_01]: John ended the Zoom went back to a cellet Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility and the proceedings got underway.
21:57
[SPEAKER_01]: First a testify was former Marinsey Chief of Police Larry Weeks.
22:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Larry walked the judge through the investigation from the first call with Tania reporting that John had taken the voice to Florida.
22:09
[SPEAKER_01]: All the way until the day he had handed the case over to the Michigan State Police.
22:13
[SPEAKER_01]: Detailing every step of the investigation,
22:17
[SPEAKER_01]: At the end of his testimony, he was asked the same question everyone the courtroom would be that day.
22:22
[SPEAKER_01]: He was asked if he believed the boys were deceased and if he believed John Skeleton killed Andrew Alexander and Tanner.
22:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Here's former emergency chief of police, Larry Weeks.
22:35
[SPEAKER_03]: Do you believe John Skeleton killed his three children on our about November 26, 2010?
22:44
[SPEAKER_03]: I do.
22:46
[SPEAKER_03]: In fact, you announced that this was a murder investigation within a couple of months of this happening.
22:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Is that correct?
22:54
[SPEAKER_04]: Yes, I did.
22:56
[SPEAKER_03]: During your time working on this case, did you ever see any evidence or any hint that these children may be alive?
23:06
[SPEAKER_04]: No, I'm confident they're deceased.
23:10
[SPEAKER_03]: Are you confident that they were killed on or about November 26th, 2010?
23:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Next on the stand was FBI Special Agent Cory Burris.
23:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, he detailed the investigation.
23:24
[SPEAKER_01]: This time, with an emphasis on building the timeline, complete with every internet search and message sent, the creation of the mom forever young account and John's ever-changing stories.
23:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Agent Burris told the judge that John Skeleton was a liar and pointed out that the booster seats were still in the van and asthma medication for the boys still in the house.
23:47
[SPEAKER_01]: If John had truly taken the boy somewhere, he would have needed the booster seats, and the boy's would have needed their medication.
23:53
[SPEAKER_01]: He also told the judge that during the course of his investigation, he discovered that John had told one of his friends that if he couldn't have the kids, Tanya would never have the either.
24:04
[SPEAKER_01]: And that John's Aunt Sandra recalled that she and John had many conversations about his interest in committing suicide, and that John had made very graphic comments about killing Tanya.
24:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Why none of this was reported to police prior to the boy's disappearances is completely beyond me.
24:25
[SPEAKER_01]: But moving on, Agent Burris also told the judge that when John had left his aunts home after dropping the jackets in toothbrushes off, he had decided he was going to commit suicide and was debating whether he should use a knife or jump off the roof.
24:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Buddy decided against both and instead bound his hands in feet with tie-down strap pieces and jumped off the second floor banister inside the home with the news.
24:50
[SPEAKER_01]: But for all the talk of suicide, the special agent found no evidence that John had actually tried to kill himself.
24:58
[SPEAKER_01]: The only injury was to his ankle, and that news had been fashioned out of a half-inch thick
25:05
[SPEAKER_01]: He wasn't convinced John had seriously tried to end his life that day, and suggested that maybe it was all staged.
25:13
[SPEAKER_01]: He went on to say that John's skeleton lied repeatedly about everything, the whereabouts of the boys, his exaggerations of his suicide attempt, and for all investigators didn't know there was one thing they knew for sure.
25:27
[SPEAKER_01]: John's skeleton was a liar, a bad one at that.
25:31
[SPEAKER_01]: All of this led him to believe that John killed the boys, and he knew within the first 72 hours that Andrew Alexander and Tanner were dead.
25:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Agent Burris believed John had killed the children because he wanted to take everything away from Tania.
25:47
[SPEAKER_01]: He destroyed everything in the home and taken the boys so she would be left with nothing.
25:53
[SPEAKER_01]: He had no doubt what had happened to the
25:58
[SPEAKER_03]: So it's been almost 15 years since this happened.
26:03
[SPEAKER_03]: Is there any doubt in your mind what happened to those children?
26:06
[SPEAKER_04]: I have no doubt in my mind.
26:07
[SPEAKER_04]: Just killed Andrew, Tanner, Alex and your skeleton.
26:11
[SPEAKER_03]: Is there any doubt in your mind that it happened on or about November 26th, 2010?
26:15
[SPEAKER_03]: No doubt in my mind.
26:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Michigan State Police Detective Jeremy Brewer testified next.
26:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Remember, Detective Brewer was the one who had taken the case over after Chief Week's left at department.
26:28
[SPEAKER_01]: He told the judge that it had taken years for him to review the case files.
26:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Years of sifting through tips, leads, and interviews, and making sure no stone had been left unturned.
26:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Once he became familiar with the case, he went to talk to John Skelton on multiple occasions, and John would talk about everything under the sun, but completely shut down when asked about the boys.
26:52
[SPEAKER_01]: He detailed the baseball, the bones, and the most ginkrid story.
26:56
[SPEAKER_01]: He told the judge that just like every other lead investigator on this case.
27:01
[SPEAKER_01]: He had never seen any sign that the brothers were alive.
27:05
[SPEAKER_01]: And just like Agent Burris, he found John Skeleton suicide attempt almost humorous, because the rope the news was made out of was so thin.
27:14
[SPEAKER_01]: It definitely wasn't what you would think someone would use if they were actually trying
27:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Detective Brewer went on to say that he believed John had destroyed everything because he didn't want to need to get anything and that included three innocent children.
27:31
[SPEAKER_03]: So, in 12 years, any indication that these children are alive?
27:40
[SPEAKER_03]: No.
27:40
[SPEAKER_03]: There's already doubt in your mind that John Scouting killed these three children.
27:44
[SPEAKER_03]: No doubt whatsoever.
27:45
[SPEAKER_03]: and is there any doubt in your mind that they were killed on our about November 26th, 2010?
27:52
[SPEAKER_03]: No doubt my mind.
27:55
[SPEAKER_01]: The three main investigators on the Skeleton Brothers case were all convinced that the boys were deceased, and that their biological father, John Skeleton, had murdered them on November 26, 2010.
28:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Michigan State Police Criminal Intelligence Analyst Kelly Hodges, whose job it was, at least in part, to look for proof of life took the stand.
28:17
[SPEAKER_01]: She told the judge that she had done multiple proof-of-life checks for the three boys in which she had reviewed over 20 different databases, looking for any social media, phone records, activity on social security numbers, traffic stops, and even facial recognition technology, looking for any sign that the boys were still alive.
28:37
[SPEAKER_01]: She testified that she could find proof-of-life
28:47
[SPEAKER_01]: The final witness to testify was Tania.
28:49
[SPEAKER_01]: She had sensory married and was now Tania Zubers.
28:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Tania detailed her marriage with John, their separation, the disappearance of her sons, and the 15-year search.
29:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Tania told the judge that she had held out hope that her boys would be found alive as long as she could, but the FBI told her her children were likely to cease, and she had ultimately faced that heartbreaking reality.
29:14
[SPEAKER_01]: She believed her three sons were dead, and for all the same reasons those investigating the case did.
29:21
[SPEAKER_01]: but also the fact that at this point, Andrew would be 23.
29:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Alexander would be 21 and Tanner would be 19.
29:29
[SPEAKER_01]: They would all be legal adults, and they were old enough at the time they disappeared to remember their families.
29:36
[SPEAKER_02]: If they were alive, they would have reached out, but they hadn't.
29:52
[SPEAKER_02]: If my sons are out there and the world with someone they don't know, one of them, because the three of them worked together very well, one of them and more than likely it would
30:24
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll just tell the person next to them.
30:28
[SPEAKER_02]: This isn't my mom or dad.
30:31
[SPEAKER_02]: And I know that if you call this number, my mom will answer.
30:39
[SPEAKER_02]: And.
30:41
[SPEAKER_03]: And in fact, they knew how to call 911.
30:43
[SPEAKER_03]: They did because they'd done it correct.
30:46
[SPEAKER_02]: I found that out.
30:52
[SPEAKER_03]: Do you know who killed your children?
30:54
[SPEAKER_02]: John Scotland?
30:57
[SPEAKER_03]: Is there any doubt in your mind that John skeleton killed your children?
31:02
[SPEAKER_02]: There is no doubt in my mind.
31:04
[SPEAKER_03]: Is there any doubt in your mind that John skeleton killed your children on November 26th, on our about November 26th, 2010?
31:15
[SPEAKER_03]: No, there is no doubt.
31:20
[SPEAKER_03]: You know if your children were alive,
31:23
[SPEAKER_03]: yes they would so today they would all be adults correct correct so any explanation that you've ever been told or heard about why John skeleton would have hidden them they're adults today correct they could walk through that door right now wish they could but they can't
31:54
[SPEAKER_03]: I know a lot of people have asked questions about why are you doing this and you and I've had some long discussions about that.
32:07
[SPEAKER_03]: We talked about a headstone and I know that one of the things you wanted to make clear to the court is that it's important to you that you want to be able to put a date on that headstone.
32:21
[SPEAKER_03]: Is that right?
32:23
[UNKNOWN]: Yes.
32:23
[SPEAKER_03]: And is that date November 26th, 2010?
32:28
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes.
32:33
[SPEAKER_03]: You're asking the court to declare what you know happened that John Scouton killed your children on November 26th, 2010.
32:42
[SPEAKER_03]: Is that correct?
32:43
[SPEAKER_02]: That is correct.
32:47
[SPEAKER_03]: Do you think this shows respect to the children that we are doing this?
32:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, it does, um, because their dad showed them no respect, um, and I shouldn't even say their dad, John Scouton showed them no respect, um, because any loving father would not have
33:22
[SPEAKER_02]: that we may not have their bodies, what they're still, their lives don't matter something, and there is a place to go.
33:43
[SPEAKER_03]: They deserve a destructive.
33:44
[SPEAKER_01]: They do.
33:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Not only did Tanya believe her boys were deceased, she testified that she knew exactly who was responsible, John Skeleton, and with that, the hearing was over.
33:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Judge Catherine Salas said she'd need time to review the evidence and re-charticision.
34:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Everyone was dismissed from the courtroom.
34:30
[SPEAKER_01]: Two days after that probate court hearing on March 5th, 2025, everyone was gathered back in the court room.
34:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Judge Catherine Sala had reached her decision.
34:40
[SPEAKER_00]: This is a case of terrible and longstanding impact on the community of Lannoy.
34:46
[SPEAKER_00]: No condolences will ever be enough for such laws as suffered.
34:50
[SPEAKER_00]: These proceedings offer an opportunity to recognize the disappearance and death of these three brothers, but leaves many more questions on the answer.
34:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Such a voluminous amount of work by law enforcement will never be fully recognized by a predator right, especially in such a laws still remains unresolved.
35:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Alexander William Scouton,
35:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Ryan and your Ryan Skeleton and Tanner Lucas Skeleton have been missing since November 26, 2010.
35:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Given their undisputed disappearance for over 14 years.
35:22
[SPEAKER_00]: The statutory presumption of death applies.
35:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Presentation of evidence, however, is not present.
35:29
[SPEAKER_00]: Clarence convincing evidence that John Scalton murdered these children.
35:32
[SPEAKER_00]: The information provided that this trial provides the ample opportunity for speculation and theories.
35:37
[SPEAKER_00]: But to make such a finding, the court would only be joining those voices offering such speculation and theory, given the lack of information.
35:44
[SPEAKER_00]: The impact of this ruling is not lost on this court.
35:48
[SPEAKER_00]: For it is also a part of this community.
35:53
[SPEAKER_00]: And to ignore it, in this case, risks the very structures upon which our system of justice is built.
36:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Thus, it is with the greatest of condolences, and it is ordered, Alexander William Scalton, Andrew Ryan Scalton, and Tanner Lucas Scalton, I presume to be deceased as of November 26, 2015,
36:24
[SPEAKER_01]: With the bang of a gavel, Andrew Alexander and Tanner had been declared legally dead, but the judge hadn't found enough evidence to prove John Scalton had murdered the boys.
36:34
[SPEAKER_01]: On one hand, it was a win.
36:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Tanya could get a proper headstone to honor the boys in the way she wanted.
36:41
[SPEAKER_01]: But on the other, a huge blow.
36:43
[SPEAKER_01]: The judge didn't find enough evidence to suggest John Hidmer to the boys.
36:48
[SPEAKER_01]: And further than that, John Skeleton was set to be released from prison just months after that hearing.
36:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Remember, he had only pled guilty to three counts of unlawful imprisonment, and for that he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
37:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Well those 15 years would be up on November 29, 2025.
37:07
[SPEAKER_01]: And for once, we're not talking about parole or early release, in fact, Skeleton had been eligible for parole since 2020, but the parole board denied every request for release.
37:22
[SPEAKER_01]: On November 29th of 2025, John would have served every single day of his 15-year sentence.
37:29
[SPEAKER_01]: The state of Michigan would have no choice but to release him.
37:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Chatter online was that, yes, Tanya had the boys legally declared deceased to honor them, but maybe there was another reason.
37:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Many speculated that this probate court hearing was a mini-mock trial to test the waters to see that maybe if there was enough evidence to convince a probate court judge that the boys were deceased and that John Skelton had murdered them.
37:55
[SPEAKER_01]: It was enough for prosecutors to convince a jury.
37:58
[SPEAKER_01]: And for those that tuned in for the hearing, it seemed investigators had a mountain of evidence, albeit circumstantial, that John was the one responsible for the murders of his sons.
38:10
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, we've been over it.
38:12
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot there that would lead a reasonable person to know other plausible conclusion.
38:17
[SPEAKER_01]: So it came as a huge blow when Judge Sala ruled that she didn't find enough evidence to declare that John's skeleton murdered Andrew Alexander and Tanner.
38:27
[SPEAKER_01]: It was looking a whole lot like John's skeleton was going to walk out of Bellamy Creek
38:35
[SPEAKER_01]: But remember, this was probate court, not a criminal trial.
38:39
[SPEAKER_01]: The rules and evidence guidelines are different.
38:42
[SPEAKER_01]: There's also a huge difference on what would be focused on during a probate court hearing to declare the voice disease, and a criminal trial to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that John Skeleton had murdered them.
38:54
[SPEAKER_01]: As the clock ticked away, and John's release date grew closer and closer.
38:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Hope began to fade that with the boys legally declared deceased, John Skeleton would be criminally charged with their murder.
39:07
[SPEAKER_01]: But at the 11th hour, 17 days before John was set to walk out of those prison doors on Wednesday, November 12th, in this year of our Lord, 2025, John Skeleton was charged with three counts of murder
39:29
[SPEAKER_01]: ABC13 News reported that on November 17, Skeleton was brought from Bellamy Creek Reactional Facility back to Linaway County, where he made his first appearance in court via Zoom, of course.
39:42
[SPEAKER_01]: He threw his legal counsel to climb to have his charges formerly red, but Judge Laura Schaedler went ahead and read them anyway, and we love her for that.
39:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Probable cause affidavits, leading to John's arrest, detail much of the evidence we've gone over in these two episodes.
40:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Long story short, the boys have not been seen since the afternoon of November 25, 2010.
40:09
[SPEAKER_01]: And John has consistently misled investigators about the whereabouts of Andrew Alexander and Tanner.
40:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Skeleton is scheduled to appear back in court on November 24th, 2025, which is 15 years to the day, Tanya dropped the boys off to spend their Thanksgiving holiday with their father.
40:29
[SPEAKER_01]: 15 years, 15 Thanksgivings, 15 Christmases, a lifetime of milestones, and finally, the boys have a chance of receiving the justice they've deserved all along.
40:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Before we go today, I just want to take a moment to speak about these three beautiful boys whose lives were cut so incredibly short, allegedly at the hands of the man who should have protected them most.
40:55
[SPEAKER_01]: At the probate court hearing, Tanya revealed through her testimony a little bit about who the boys were.
41:01
[SPEAKER_01]: There was the oldest Andrew born in November of 2001.
41:06
[SPEAKER_01]: He was nine years old.
41:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Andrew was smart.
41:10
[SPEAKER_01]: He loved all things computers and video games.
41:14
[SPEAKER_01]: There was Alexander born in November of 2003.
41:17
[SPEAKER_01]: He was seven.
41:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Tanner was the baby born in October of 2005.
41:29
[SPEAKER_01]: He had only been five for a month when they went missing.
41:34
[SPEAKER_01]: He had just started kindergarten and was excited to finally be in school with his brothers.
41:40
[SPEAKER_01]: He'd often make up stories that were almost believable and just when he had you hanging onto every word he'd say, I'm just messing with you.
41:49
[SPEAKER_01]: The three brothers
41:54
[SPEAKER_01]: If you have any information about the disappearance or whereabouts of Andrew Alexander and Tanner Skeleton, you are urged to contact the Michigan State Police at 1517-636-0689 or the National Center for Missing and Exploded Children at 1-800-The-Loss, that's 1-800-843-5678.
42:20
[SPEAKER_01]: You can bet your sweet ass I'll be following this case closely, and I'll bring you updates as they become available.
42:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Next week I'll be off for Thanksgiving, but I'm pretty sure someone really cool will be here filling in, and then I'll be back the following Thursday with an all new case.
42:39
[SPEAKER_01]: In the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram at least on your score of these or my Facebook at least of these podcasts.
42:47
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you're sick of ad interruptions, I've got good news for you.
42:50
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42:56
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43:04
[SPEAKER_01]: head on over to patreon.com slash least of these to support the show today.
43:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for listening.
43:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for caring.
43:12
[SPEAKER_01]: If you know something, say something.
43:14
[SPEAKER_01]: And until next time, be good to each other.
43:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, hey there, when I tell y'all I had a completely different hot take in mind for this week, I had a completely different hot take in mind for this week.
44:06
[SPEAKER_01]: I wrote the episodes before the news came out that John Scalton had been arrested.
44:13
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, before the news came out, obviously he was still in jail, but before the news came out that he had actually been charged
44:22
[SPEAKER_01]: So many people have requested this case and I've refrained because there just wasn't that much.
44:30
[SPEAKER_01]: And instead, I've just followed it super closely and then at the probate court hearing in March, I was at a complete loss for why this man had not been charged with murder.
44:41
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think the reason is pretty obvious.
44:44
[SPEAKER_01]: In my opinion, the boys needed to legally be to
44:49
[SPEAKER_01]: and then they just held out until the last moment to charge him because that way he's spending the most time in prison that he can.
44:56
[SPEAKER_01]: I think the hope was always that he would confess to someone in jail or come clean and tell the investigators where the boys were but he didn't do that.
45:05
[SPEAKER_01]: But I feel like even just knowing what we know right now and believe me a law enforcement prosecutors they got more than what then what we just went over there's more to this.
45:16
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure
45:18
[SPEAKER_01]: But even with what we know right now, it's enough.
45:23
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't have statistics on nobody cases, but people are convicted, even with the person's body not being found.
45:32
[SPEAKER_01]: It is, of course, not as common, but it happens.
45:37
[SPEAKER_01]: And the circumstantial evidence in this case is.
45:42
[SPEAKER_01]: beyond overwhelming, the searches.
45:44
[SPEAKER_01]: How many times he said he was going to kill himself?
45:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Joanne Taylor being created from his IP address, are you freaking ketamine right now?
45:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Poor most gang rich, can you imagine you're just like a dude out there in the?
45:59
[SPEAKER_01]: You escape the omniscient just out there helping people who want to leave the omniscient right in your books and stuff and all of a sudden you're wrote into one of the biggest missing person cases and Michigan, you have no idea who this dude is, but look what he did.
46:12
[SPEAKER_01]: He flew out there confronted the man.
46:15
[SPEAKER_01]: All right, got mad respect for almost okay, but my heart take was up.
46:21
[SPEAKER_01]: me just railing on why you would in charge this guy with all the evidence that you have.
46:26
[SPEAKER_01]: And here we are and he is charged.
46:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And when I tell y'all, I had written the episodes.
46:30
[SPEAKER_01]: I had reported part one before the news broke because I was going to be like, come on, Michigan, you got 17 days.
46:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Like y'all need to start raising some hell.
46:41
[SPEAKER_01]: This dude can not get out of jail.
46:43
[SPEAKER_01]: And when I tell y'all I scream from my couch When I just open my phone and saw that Joker have been charged.
46:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh my lord I don't know that I've been so happy about something in relation to a case because I have followed this ever since you guys suggested it And honestly there wasn't that much out in the very eat before the probate court hearing We didn't know any of this about the searches and the most gain-rich and the stuff is wild
47:07
[SPEAKER_01]: and I kept waiting, you know, since March for, okay, let's file the charges.
47:11
[SPEAKER_01]: We're getting close to November.
47:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's file them charges, but here we are in there, filed 15 years to the day.
47:17
[SPEAKER_01]: That's poetic right there.
47:19
[SPEAKER_01]: The other thing that I want to talk about and that hasn't changed is that so many signs were missed.
47:25
[SPEAKER_01]: John told how many friends he was thinking about committing suicide.
47:28
[SPEAKER_01]: There's no evidence that anybody like try to get the man help.
47:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Try to be like, hey, something wrong with a sky.
47:34
[SPEAKER_01]: You know that Facebook post on the 24th.
47:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sorry to God and my wife.
47:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Come on now.
47:43
[SPEAKER_01]: If anybody had called that in, maybe the boys wouldn't have been within that night.
47:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, I don't believe he was trying to kill herself.
47:50
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm with the detectives.
47:51
[SPEAKER_01]: If he was trying to kill herself, he'd be dead because the three boys aren't with us.
47:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, are they?
47:58
[SPEAKER_01]: It always pisses me off that they managed to kill all the innocent people around them.
48:03
[SPEAKER_01]: And then fail when it comes to themselves.
48:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Now don't get me wrong.
48:08
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not telling anybody to kill themselves.
48:10
[SPEAKER_01]: That would be the last thing I would ever tell you.
48:12
[SPEAKER_01]: If you're struggling reach out to somebody, okay?
48:15
[SPEAKER_01]: But if you're homicidal and suicidal, just just take the second option, if you're not going to go get help, or I'm probably going to get in trouble for that one, but I'm just saying don't take innocent children with you, man, that's that's insane.
48:29
[SPEAKER_01]: And I just don't think this man had any intention of killing himself.
48:33
[SPEAKER_01]: That was just going to be his story with the detectives.
48:36
[SPEAKER_01]: They look at the scene.
48:37
[SPEAKER_01]: They saw the injuries to him.
48:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Notice there's no injuries to his neck.
48:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Try to hang yourself with a news, but he hurt his ankle, come on, man.
48:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Get all the way out of here with that.
48:47
[SPEAKER_01]: And the talks about graphic descriptions of killing Tania get no one's calling, and like, hey, this dude is losing it.
48:54
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got some screws loose, need to get him somewhere.
48:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, nobody does that until three boys, three innocent children are missing.
49:03
[SPEAKER_01]: And now we can say they're legally declared dead.
49:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Three boys had to lose their lives and nobody thought it, baby important to be like, hey, he just described graphically how we want to kill his wife.
49:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Use your noodle, okay?
49:20
[SPEAKER_01]: The people around you might be losing their noodle, but you still got chairs.
49:24
[SPEAKER_01]: You need to use it.
49:26
[SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, I'm probably going to get canceled again for tonight's hot take, you know?
49:30
[SPEAKER_01]: But that's why the hot takes separate.
49:31
[SPEAKER_01]: If you don't want to hear my opinion, then don't hang around to the end, because you're not always going to agree with it, and that's okay.
49:39
[SPEAKER_01]: But I stand by it.
49:41
[SPEAKER_01]: People should have said something.
49:43
[SPEAKER_01]: People should have spoken out.
49:44
[SPEAKER_01]: People should have been like, hey, this dude's getting real suicidal.
49:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Possibly homicidal.
49:50
[SPEAKER_01]: And there's no guarantee with our current state of our mental health system that that would have prevented anything.
49:56
[SPEAKER_01]: But it was damn well worth the shot.
49:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Now wasn't it?
50:00
[SPEAKER_01]: wasn't on a good note though.
50:01
[SPEAKER_01]: He's finally charged.
50:03
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like their cases strong and things are going to come out that we don't even know yet and I'm already convinced.
50:08
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't have a doubt in my mind that he killed those three beautiful boys.
50:14
[SPEAKER_01]: And I hope and I pray that he is convicted swiftly and does not spend another free day walking
50:28
[SPEAKER_01]: y'all know I love you more and my luggage and I can't wait to talk it to you next week wait I won't be talking to y'all next week it's Thanksgiving I hope you'll have a happy Thanksgiving and I will see you I will not say you I will talk to you I'm really messing I'm just trying to sign off and I can't even get it right tonight I will talk at you the week after next but until then bye bye