Twist in case of boys who vanished 15 years ago as father is charged

A father has been charged with murdering of his three sons almost 15 years after they disappeared from their southern Michigan home. John Skelton, 53, is facing three counts of murder and tampering with evidence in the deaths of nine-year-old Andrew, seven-year-old Alexander and five-year-old Tanner Skelton in Morenci near the Ohio border, according to Lenawee County District Court records filed on Wednesday. The charges came just days before Skelton was due to be released from prison after serving a 15-year sentence for unlawful imprisonment for failing to return the boys to their mother after they spent Thanksgiving Day with him in 2010.

Authorities had always believed the three boys were dead and that Skelton (pictured) was responsible. Because their bodies were never found, he was charged with three counts of unlawful imprisonment and pleaded no contest in 2011. In March, a judge declared the boys dead after their mother, Tanya Zuvers, asked the court for a formal declaration of death to give her closure and provide 'respect' to the brothers. 'This development marks a significant moment in a long and painful journey,' Zuvers said in a statement.

'While I understand the public interest in this case, I ask that my family´s privacy be respected as we process this news and continue to grieve the loss of Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner.' Zuvers praised police and prosecutors who have 'worked tirelessly over the years to seek justice for my sons .' Skelton has said that he handed the boys over to an underground group to protect them from her mother. Police have never found any evidence of the claim and said that Skelton has provided differing accounts of who he entrusted his kids with.

Investigators said Skelton fed them a long string of lies about the boys' whereabouts and that his claims they were given to other people for their safety were false. The lead investigator, Michigan State Police Detective Lt. Jeremy Brewer, said in March that he had 'no doubt whatsoever' that Skelton killed the brothers. Skelton declined to participate in that court hearing, telling a judge by videoconference from prison: 'Anything I say isn't going to make a difference.'

Larry Weeks, a former Morenci police chief who worked on the case, testified at the March hearing that the day the boys were last seen, he received a call from a deputy who was with Skelton at the Fulton County Medical Center in Ohio. The officer indicated that Skelton had an injury to his ankle from a [self-murder] attempt. Weeks then went to the home where the boys were last seen and described a scene of 'disarray.'

'Glass and cabinets had been broken. Electrical cords to all the appliances had been cut,' he said, adding that 'there appeared to be a noose hanging from a second story balcony.' Officers also found a written message from Skelton that was consistent with a [self-murder] note. Investigators found Bible was open with a verse circled and a note apparently left for Zuvers that read, 'You will hate me forever and I know this,' FBI agent Corey Burras testified. 'That was his passive admission to killing the children,' Burras said.