Fifteen long years have passed since the mysterious disappearance of Alexander, Andrew, and Tanner Skelton. This year, however, the case has taken a significant turn as their father, John Skelton, faces murder charges just weeks before his anticipated release from a Michigan prison.

The saga began on November 26, 2010, when the young boys were last observed playing in the backyard of John’s home in Morenci. Amid a tumultuous divorce, Tanya Zuvers, who held sole custody, permitted John to spend Thanksgiving with their sons.

Alarm bells rang when Zuvers contacted the police after John failed to return the boys. Authorities later found him in a hospital, claiming he had injured his ankle during a suicide attempt. John’s accounts of the boys’ fate wavered, from entrusting them to a stranger to delivering them to a clandestine group for protection. However, none of these stories were substantiated, leaving the boys’ whereabouts a lingering mystery.

As reported by Crime Online in 2020 and 2017, the case saw few new developments over the years. John remained behind bars for the unlawful imprisonment of his sons, persistently pursuing parole. Yet, as the boys remained missing, it appeared he might exit prison without ever revealing their fate.

However, the trajectory of the investigation shifted.

The Backstory

Through extensive interviews, authorities uncovered that John had indeed traveled to Holiday City, Ohio, a mere 25 miles from his residence, around the time the Skelton brothers were last seen alive.

Cellphone records suggest John made the trip between 4:29 a.m. and 6:46 a.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Police were hyper-focused on that timeframe, as they believe that is when he killed his sons or dumped their bodies.

After trying to hang himself, John provided multiple stories about what happened to his sons. He claimed that he gave the boys to a woman named Joann Taylor, but police determined that the woman did not exist. Further, an email associated with the fictitious woman was linked to an IP address traced to John’s home. This discovery led to his arrest.

John continued to provide more accounts to police as their search spanned Michigan and Ohio.  He not only claimed that he gave his sons to an underground organization in Ohio to protect them from Zuvers’ abuse (which she denies), but that Moses Gingerich, an Amish TV personality, would be able to locate his sons. Authorities reportedly facilitated a meeting between John and Gingerich, who said it was unlikely the Amish could have hidden three boys for this span of time. The meeting ended with John never asking Gingerich if and how he could help find his sons.

A search of John’s laptop offered a more grim story. FBI Detroit Field Office Special Agent Corey Burras said the device was used to search phrases like “Can rat poison kill a person?” and “Is it odorless and tasteless?” Burras also alleged that John left behind a suicide note to Zuvers, stating, “You will hate me.”

The boys’ disappearance shifted to a murder investigation in early 2011.

Murder Charges Filed

It is still unclear what led to Lenawee County prosecutors charging John with open murder. By all accounts, the Alexander, Andrew, and Tanner’s bodies have not been found. Presumably, there was an urgency to charge John as his prison release was set for November 29 and he is the only person who knows what happened to his sons.

In December 2023, Zuvers petitioned to have her three sons declared legally deceased. She explained that she wanted to formally put death dates on the boys’ headstones as a step closer towards closure.

“At the end of the day, one person is responsible for the disappearance of my sons. That person, at one point, claimed the boys would hibernate until they graduate. As of today, June 14, 2024, all 3 boys are over 18, and all would have graduated high school, yet they have not been returned to me and are still missing,” she said.

“At the end of the day, one person is responsible for the disappearance of my sons.

The court approved her petition in March 2025. However, the judge ruled there was insufficient evidence proving they were murdered on or about November 26, 2010, or that their father killed them.

John appeared virtually at the court procedures, but still refused to divulge his sons’ whereabouts.

“I’m at a disadvantage. Anything I say isn’t going to make a difference,” he said.

Meanwhile, prosecutors were building a murder case against him.

The Next Steps

Many questions remain as John faces murder charges in his sons’ deaths.

Sources told WTOL that investigators spent two years reviewing the Skelton brothers’ disappearance. According to a probable cause affidavit from early November, state police interviewed John, but he became uncooperative and refused to disclose his sons’ whereabouts. The document described him as “inconsistent and misleading” for the past 15 years.

READ: Crime Online’s continuing coverage of the Skelton Brothers case

“This development marks a significant moment in a long and painful journey. 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 said in light of the murder charges against John.

There is no indication that Alexander, Tanner, and Andrew’s bodies have been found.

A probable cause hearing, which was initially scheduled for November 24, was pushed back to December 17 to give defense attorneys more time to review the breadth of evidence in this case.

John is also charged with evidence tampering. He remains jailed in Lenawee County on $60 million bond.

Anyone with information regarding Alexander, Andrew, or Tanner Skelton’s whereabouts is asked to call Michigan State Police at 1-517-636-0689 or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.