John Skelton
The preliminary hearing for John Skelton, the father of three young boys who disappeared in Morenci, Mich. around Thanksgiving in 2010, continues this morning for its fourth day.
Here’s what to know about the case and what’s happening at the preliminary hearing:
Missing Skelton brothers
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John Skelton case hearing: Boys not returned on Black Friday
Tanya Zuver, the ex-wife of the defendant and mother of the three Skelton boys, testified first at John Skelton’s pretrial. She details the day after Thanksgiving in 2010, when she had trouble locating Skelton and the boys before an AMBER Alert was issued.
The backstory:
John Skelton’s three sons disappeared while with their father during Thanksgiving in 2010. The boys’ ages at the time were:
- Andrew, 9
- Alexander, 7
- Tanner, 5
This happened in Morenci, a small town near the Ohio border about 100 miles southwest of Detroit.
Up until November 2025, John Skelton was never charged in connection with the disappearance of his sons. However, he was sentenced to 10-15 years in prison for unlawful imprisonment after pleading no contest to the charges.
The unresolved case has unsettled the tight-knit community for more than 15 years.
What's next:
Court resumes again today at 10:30 a.m. You can watch live in the video player above, or on FOX 2 Detroit's YouTube.
Skelton case timeline
Skelton pretrial day 3 recap
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John Skelton confided marriage problems, ‘take matters into my own hands’
Charlene O’Brien, John Skelton’s aunt by marriage, testified at his pretrial hearing that he confided to her about a week before Thanksgiving in 2010 that he was having marriage problems and that he thought his wife was "messing with" the children. When she told him to call the police, she testified he said he’d take matters into his own hands and stormed out.
Big picture view:
The prosecution called several family members of the defendant on Wednesday, including multiple cousins and aunts.
One cousin remembers Skelton saying that he "lost my boys," and another cousin found a duffle bag with boys' winter coats and toothbrushes on his front porch in the middle of the night after Thanksgiving.
One aunt said Skelton brought her a USB drive and a camcorder on Black Friday, and told her not to give it to anyone without a warrant. She said she never looked at what was there, and eventually turned it over as evidence. Another aunt testified that Skelton confided about marriage troubles a week before Thanksgiving, and stormed off after saying he'd "take matters into his own hands" after being advised to call the authorities.
Day 2 recap
Wild Claims Made:
Testimony concluded Tuesday with video from 2011 of law enforcement and an FBI investigator interviewing John Skelton to establish a timeline of events and to get details about what happened to his missing children.
Throughout the conversation, which lasted nearly two hours, investigators pointed out inconsistencies in his claims, noted that all digital and email records trace back exclusively to his own laptop, and attempted to dismantle his story about handing the boys over to a third party.
Skelton claimed he gave his three sons to an organization or underground network, repeatedly referencing an individual named "Joanne Taylor." This was done in an effort to protect them from their mother, he said.
He claimed he was instructed to broadcast specific secret codes and keywords, such as "Traverse City," "Goldilocks," "bears," or "magic beans", via press conferences, media outlets, or family members to signal the group to return or safely pass along messages to the boys.
He denied harming the children and maintained that they were alive and handed off safely, though he admitted he had no direct way to contact the individuals who took them.
Other Testimony:
The Skelton family pastor detailed an ominous phone call she and Zuber received from John Skelton inside the police station, and how he was speaking to the pastor "on a spiritual level, not on a physical level."
A former co-worker of John Skelton testified about a strange comment that he once heard from him, about how Skelton thought you "could bury a body" in an area of land where the coworker was going hunting.
Day 1 recap
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John Skelton case hearing: Thanksgiving Day and custody plans
Tanya Zuver, the ex-wife of the defendant and mother of the three Skelton boys, testified first at John Skelton’s pretrial. She details Thanksgiving in 2010, the last day she remembers hearing her boys on the phone.
Big picture view:
The ex-wife of John Skelton opened testimony at the trial, detailing her relationship with him and how their marriage unraveled, as well as the days leading up to Thanksgiving and what happened on Black Friday when she tried to get the boys home early and they were never returned.
What they're saying:
Tanya Zuver said that in September of 2010, a little more than two months before the boys disappeared, her husband had taken the boys out of school and driven them to Florida before, breaking her trust.
Skelton wanted to move to Florida for job opportunities but Zuver, a convicted sex offender, did not want to leave the state and uproot the children.
Zuver met with a lawyer to begin the divorce process, which Skelton caught wind of, and accelerated the collapse of the marriage. She later had custody during the breakup.
The last time she saw the boys was the day before Thanksgiving in 2010, which she agreed to share the boys for.
She testified she made it clear to Skelton in a conversation Thanksgiving night that their marriage was over, and she did not want to work on reconciling any longer.
On Black Friday, Zuver tried to get the boys home early to go shopping with other family members, but was told by Skelton that they weren't home. She testified she was getting confusing details about where they were, and eventually learned the boys and Skelton were not together as he was in the hospital with a broken ankle. When the boys weren't dropped off at 3 p.m., she called police shortly after.
Police investigation:
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John Skelton letter to Tanya Zuver
Tanya Zuver, the ex-wife of the defendant and mother of the three Skelton boys, testified first at John Skelton’s pretrial. She read a letter found in the home that Skelton had written to her.
During questioning by Skelton’s defense attorney, Zuver said she’s met with police dozens of times over the years.
She testified that police told her they believed the boys had been murdered, and that they shared the opinion that Skelton had committed that crime.
She testified she remembers it being 2-3 weeks after the boys’ disappearance that police changed it to a murder investigation.
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Skelton pastor: "I knew that they were dead"
The Skeltons’ pastor at the time, Donna Galloway, testified at John Skelton’s pretrial Monday. She detailed conversations she had with him while he was in the hospital and the boys were missing, and says he kept saying the boys were "safe" and was using the word "home."
Pastor Donna Galloway from the Methodist Church in Morenci that the Skeltons sometimes attended, also took the stand on the first day.
Galloway was in touch with Skelton on Black Friday while he said he was in the hospital, and said she was confused as to who Skelton said he had left the boys with because he couldn’t give the woman’s last name or her phone number.
Galloway testified that Skelton kept saying the boys were "safe" and would use the word "home" repeatedly.
During one of their conversations, Galloway testified that Skelton said, "Pastor Donna, you of all people should understand what I mean when I saw that they’re home."
"I knew at that point. When he said, you of all people should know what I mean when I say I sent him home, I knew that they were dead," Galloway said.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from previous FOX 2 reporting on the case, the Associated Press, and testimony from witnesses given during Skelton’s preliminary hearing, which began on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026.