After more than a decade of heartbreak and unanswered questions, a Michigan mother is asking the court to declare her three missing sons dead legally. Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner Skelton, 5, vanished in November 2010 while spending Thanksgiving with their father, John Skelton, at his home in Morenci, Michigan.
Their mother, Tanya Zuvers, was in the middle of a divorce from John. When the boys didn’t return home the day after Thanksgiving, police began investigating and soon discovered disturbing clues. John’s phone records showed he traveled to Ohio early that morning before returning to Michigan just a few hours later. Meanwhile, at his home, police found a chilling scene: a noose hanging from the second floor, an open Bible with a verse circled, and a note seemingly addressed to Tanya that read, “You will hate me forever and I know this,” according to FBI agent Corey Burras.
John, who was in the hospital at the time for an ankle injury, later gave conflicting statements about what happened to his sons. At one point, he told his church pastor, “I sent them home,” a comment that authorities interpreted as an admission that he had killed them. He also made bizarre claims that he had handed the boys over to a secretive group for their protection. Investigators later found that he had searched online for instructions on how to break a neck, further raising suspicions.
On Monday, March 3, a Lenawee County court heard testimony from law enforcement officials, who confirmed there has been no sign that the boys are alive. Former Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks, who led the investigation in 2010, testified, “I’m confident they’re deceased.”
Zuvers also addressed the court, explaining why she made the painful decision to seek this legal declaration. “Because their dad showed them no respect,” she said. “Because any loving father would not have done what he did, and I owe them the respect.” She added that this process would allow her to finally place a headstone with a date, giving her sons the recognition they deserve.
“This decision came after much thought and discussion with my family and friends. It did not come lightly and was definitely a difficult decision to make,” she said in a statement earlier this year. “No parent wants to lose a child, but to have to have the courts step in and declare them deceased is just unfathomable.”
Despite all the evidence pointing to foul play, John Skelton has never been charged with his sons’ deaths. Instead, he was convicted of unlawful imprisonment and sentenced to 15 years for failing to return the boys to their mother. Now serving time in prison, he appeared in court via video but refused to engage, saying, “Everyone has got lawyers. I don’t. I’m at a disadvantage. Anything I say isn’t going to make a difference.”
For Tanya Zuvers, the legal process may bring a sense of closure, but the pain of losing her three boys will never truly fade.