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Michigan Mother Seeks Death Declaration for Missing Sons
Adrian, Mich. — Nearly 15 years after her three sons disappeared, a Michigan woman is petitioning a court to officially declare them deceased. The case has haunted the community of Morenci, located close to the Ohio border, since their father failed to return them following a Thanksgiving visit.
Authorities are inclined to believe that the three boys—Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner Skelton—are no longer alive and consider their father, John Skelton, a prime suspect in their presumed deaths. Despite the evidence pointing to his involvement, he has only been charged with unlawful imprisonment for failing to return the children to their mother, Tanya Zuvers. He is currently serving a 15-year sentence, which is the only legal conclusion in this tragic mystery.
The proceedings will commence on Monday in Lenawee County, where a judge will hear testimonies from various witnesses, including Zuvers and law enforcement officials. They will shed light on the exhaustive, unfruitful search for the boys over the past years.
Since November 2010, Zuvers has held onto hope that someone might alleviate her pain by revealing the boys’ whereabouts or that Skelton would disclose the truth about their fate, as noted by her attorney, R. Burke Castleberry, in a court filing. Unfortunately, such revelations have yet to materialize.
Nathan Piwowarski, a probate and estate law attorney from Cadillac, Michigan, explained that a death declaration can serve multiple purposes, including providing emotional closure for families. Additionally, such a ruling could enable the family to pursue wrongful death or other civil claims against Skelton, although Piwowarski does not represent anyone involved in this case.
Skelton, 53, has not commented on the petition, remaining silent in his incarceration.
The Skelton brothers were aged 9, 7, and 5 when they disappeared from their small hometown of Morenci. Their mother was in the process of divorcing Skelton during the fall of 2010, and he was meant to return the children to her the day after Thanksgiving. Instead, they have been missing ever since. Investigation revealed that Skelton’s phone traveled to Ohio in the early hours before it was turned off and then switched back on in Morenci shortly after.
Skelton has denied any wrongdoing and provided various questionable accounts of their supposed whereabouts, one of which involved a supposed underground group safeguarding the children. While extensive searches were conducted in local terrains and waterways, Skelton purportedly mentioned a connection to a figure associated with helping individuals exit Amish communities, which authorities have dismissed as a fabrication.
Castleberry emphasized that the upcoming court hearing will illustrate the convoluted and often bizarre tales spun by Skelton, leading investigators on a series of fruitless pursuits. Despite the passage of time, the memory of the Skelton brothers lingers in Morenci, symbolized by a plaque honoring their names and images in a local park, inscribed with the words “Faith, Hope, Love.”
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