Left, from top to bottom: Alexander, Tanner, and Andrew Skelton (WDIV). Right: John Skelton (Michigan Department of Corrections).
In a deeply unsettling case that has haunted a Michigan community for over a decade, John Skelton, a man convicted of wrongfully imprisoning his young sons, is slated for release from prison. Skelton, now 53, was sentenced in 2011 after he failed to return his three sons—Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5—to their mother following a Thanksgiving visit in 2010.
During a 2018 interview from behind bars with WDIV, a local NBC affiliate, Skelton asserted that he had handed his sons over to an “underground sanctuary” in Ohio. Skelton claimed he took this drastic step because he believed their mother, his ex-wife Tanya Zuvers, posed a threat to their wellbeing. Despite these assertions, the boys have not been seen since that fateful holiday, leading their mother to legally declare them dead in March.
Tanya Zuvers, heartbroken and seeking justice, attempted to have the court declare Skelton responsible for the deaths of her sons, though her efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. Skelton has faced no charges directly related to the boys’ deaths, leaving many questions unanswered.
The tragic saga began when Skelton spent Thanksgiving with his children, promising to return them to Zuvers the next day. He never did. Investigations later revealed that his cellphone had been traced to Ohio the day after Thanksgiving. During the same 2018 interview, Skelton recounted how a van purportedly arrived at his home on Thanksgiving night, whisking the boys away to a supposed sanctuary run by two women and a man in his 60s. However, authorities have never uncovered any evidence to support this narrative.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Skelton spent Thanksgiving in 2010 with the three sons he shared with Zuvers, assuring her that he would bring them back to her the following morning. Skelton never brought the boys back. Investigators later tracked his cellphone to Ohio on the day after Thanksgiving. In 2018, Skelton told WDIV that on Thanksgiving night, a van arrived at his home and took the three boys away to bring them to an “underground sanctuary” run by two women and a man in his 60s.
Authorities never found evidence to support this claim.
Hours after Skelton’s cellphone was tracked to a location 30 miles into Ohio from the Michigan border, the phone was tracked again to his home in Morenci, Michigan. That Friday after Thanksgiving, Skelton called a friend to bring him to the hospital after he injured himself during a failed suicide attempt.
When Zuvers found out Skelton was in the hospital on the day he promised to return the boys to her, he told her several different stories about what happened. Their conversation prompted Zuvers to call the police and report the boys missing.
Skelton’s stories evolved from the boys being with a “friend” to him having “a vision” that the boys were “put in a dumpster” in Ohio. While he was in prison, he sent police on a wild goose chase into the local Amish community, telling them to look into a former reality TV personality and mystery writer who had been excommunicated from the religious sect. Skelton indicated to police that he made that story up.
Skelton was sentenced to 10 to 15 years after being found guilty on three counts of wrongful imprisonment. After being denied parole in 2023, he is now set to be released from prison on Nov. 29.
