The mother of three Michigan boys who vanished in 2010 was in court on Monday to have them legally declared dead.
The Skelton brothers — Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5, — were last seen playing in the backyard of their father’s Morenci home on Thanksgiving 2010. Their father, John Skelton, who is serving a 10-to-15-year sentence for their unlawful imprisonment, appeared virtually in court but declined to participate in the proceedings, according to WTOL.
“I’m at a disadvantage. Anything I say isn’t going to make a difference,” he said.
John Skelton has never been charged for his sons’ presumed deaths. He told investigators multiple stories about the boys’ disappearance, including claiming he gave them to an organization to protect them from their mother, who he claimed was abusive.
READ: Skelton Brothers: Mom Wants to Declare 3 Missing Sons Dead 14 Years After Their Disappearance
In December, the boys’ mother, Tanya Zuvers, filed paperwork to have them deemed deceased.
Zuvers had sole custody of the boys, as she and John Skelton were in the middle of a divorce. They had spent the holiday with their father, and their mother was to pick them up the next day.
On Monday, Former Morenci police chief Larry Weeks testified that John Skelton told Zuvers that their sons were with a woman with Joann Taylor. Weeks said, however, that an investigation never located the woman, according to The Detroit News.
FBI agent Corey Burras also took the stand. He said John Skelton addressed Zuvers in a suicide note, stating, “You will hate me.” Burras said he believed the note implied that he killed their sons.
According to The Detroit News, Burras also searched online about how to break a neck, potassium cyanide, and rat poison. The searches were allegedly conducted the same month his sons disappeared.
Probate Judge Catherine Sala said she will rule on Wednesday regarding the Skelton brothers’ presumed deaths.
John Skelton, who was denied parole in 2022, will be released from prison in November.
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[Feature Photo: Tanner, Andrew, and Alexander Skelton/Facebook]
