MI MI - Tanner Lucas, Alexander William, & Andrew Ryan Skelton, Morenci, 26 Nov 2010 #2

[LostinMI05]

I agree with you, plus the fact maybe he thought he was around to protect them.. now with the separation.. he's not there to keep an eye on things anymore.. I dunno.. just trying to think like he might, i guess..

But he wasn't really around, since he was an OTR driver he was gone for days at a time.

*Opinion based on myspace comments.

 

[peeples]

Ahhh i didn't see that you guys Thanks! I just read that he spent some time in jail in january for failure to pay child support...so they have been separated for a while....

 

[Donjeta]

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=news/local&id=7814475

From the above link:

Skelton remains in custody in an undisclosed mental health facility. His injuries from his suicide attempt were limited to a minor ankle fracture.

If he got no other injuries at all I'm inclined to think that the suicide attempt may have been bogus and he injured his ankle some other way. Wouldn't you be likely to have some abrasions in your neck or something if you had a rope around it and jumped off an object, even if the rope broke or whatever you had tied the rope to gave in immediately?

 

[wannabedetective]

I agree with you, plus the fact maybe he thought he was around to protect them.. now with the separation.. he's not there to keep an eye on things anymore.. I dunno.. just trying to think like he might, i guess..[/QUOT

Let's assume JS knew about her previous conviction and opted to marry and have 3 children with her anyway. What must have occurred to make him think they are in danger now? OR did he not know about it until recently? Not saying it's not a possibility, just being a devil's advocate. If she were a pedophile, you'd think there would be more than one arrest/conviction over the course of 12 years.

For the psychologists on the board: Would a female pedophile typically also sexually abuse her children?

 

[Donjeta]

Ahhh i didn't see that you guys Thanks! I just read that he spent some time in jail in january for failure to pay child support...so they have been separated for a while....

I think that the failure to pay child support is concerning another child from another relationship. That's what this implies to me anyway, since the jail time is mentioned in connection with this other relationship and the other child.

John Skelton has also been married before. He has one daughter from that marriage. In January of this year, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail for failure to pay child support.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=news/local&id=7815138

 

[Gene]

I am not sure if this has been posted already. it has some info about JS I had not seen before:

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/john-skelton-described-as-loner-20101129-wpms

And this seems to say that JS has taken them not once, but twice before. On Sept 13 and again on Sept 20. Both times he returned them:

http://www.detnews.com/article/2010...ing-boys-took-them-before--court-records-show

This is why I am hoping that he is doing the same thing again..................

 

[lishac23]

So is the van missing?? If it's missing, this does not bode well at all. If it's not missing, there has to be some forensic evidence in there wouldn't you think? Certainly, if he physically harmed them and transported them in the van, there would be SOMETHING. I'm a nurse, and I know this is gross and I certainly shudder to think of it in correlation with these 3 little souls, but even if he killed them in the van(or elsewhere) by strangulation or even an overdose (leaving no blood)and transported them in van.. there is things that happen when a person dies that would leave telltale evidence. (Bowels and bladder let go for instance). So, can someone tell me if the van is missing? Are the police in possession of vehicle and just asking if anyone saw it that morning?

Unfortunately, because the van belongs to the "father" any evidence, outside of large amounts of blood (also please forgive me for being crude), won't really help the investigation. The boys were probably in the van all the time and have left all kinds of forensic evidence that could be easily explained/justified for being there.

I think that LE is asking for sightings of the van in hopes of narrowing down where he was and at what time.

Its also hurtful to hear that the search has been called off because of nightfall. If LE had any hopes of finding the boys out there after being "dumped" off...would have continued into the night until they were located.

 

[peeples]

I agree with you, plus the fact maybe he thought he was around to protect them.. now with the separation.. he's not there to keep an eye on things anymore.. I dunno.. just trying to think like he might, i guess..[/QUOT

Let's assume JS knew about her previous conviction and opted to marry and have 3 children with her anyway. What must have occurred to make him think they are in danger now? OR did he not know about it until recently? Not saying it's not a possibility, just being a devil's advocate. If she were a pedophile, you'd think there would be more than one arrest/conviction over the course of 12 years.

For the psychologists on the board: Would a female pedophile typically also sexually abuse her children?

When i posted that i wasn't aware that he had still been working as along haul trucker, so that kinda negates my post LOL

 

[passionflower]

I am not sure if this has been posted already. it has some info about JS I had not seen before:

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/john-skelton-described-as-loner-20101129-wpms

And this seems to say that JS has taken them not once, but twice before. On Sept 13 and again on Sept 20. Both times he returned them:

http://www.detnews.com/article/2010...ing-boys-took-them-before--court-records-show

This is why I am hoping that he is doing the same thing again..................

a loner
but friends say John was harassing Tanya over the internet.

 

[CarrieBean]

Unfortunately, because the van belongs to the "father" any evidence, outside of large amounts of blood (also please forgive me for being crude), won't really help the investigation. The boys were probably in the van all the time and have left all kinds of forensic evidence that could be easily explained/justified for being there.

I think that LE is asking for sightings of the van in hopes of narrowing down where he was and at what time.

Its also hurtful to hear that the search has been called off because of nightfall. If LE had any hopes of finding the boys out there after being "dumped" off...would have continued into the night until they were located.

I think the poster was referring to decomposition.

 

[wannabedetective]

Well folks, I'm really leaning towards the "I'm gonna get you back and take away what you love the most" theory.

Not sure if this is okay, so mods feel free to delete/edit.

I suspect that he disposed of his children. While doing so, broke his ankle. Needing a plausible theory for both he made up Joanne as the person that took them and also created a suicide theory to explain the ankle.

 

[peeples]

I think it's a good sign they haven't brought in cadaver dogs or anything... although i haven't seen they brought in search and rescue or tracking dogs either.......

 

[Donjeta]

Let's assume JS knew about her previous conviction and opted to marry and have 3 children with her anyway. What must have occurred to make him think they are in danger now? OR did he not know about it until recently? Not saying it's not a possibility, just being a devil's advocate. If she were a pedophile, you'd think there would be more than one arrest/conviction over the course of 12 years.

For the psychologists on the board: Would a female pedophile typically also sexually abuse her children?

Not saying I necessarily believe that being worried about the mom molesting the children made him hide them, but generally I think it's not uncommon that spouses (males and females alike) turn the blind eye as long as the relationship seems okay and they're still in lurrrve, and then when they break up they come up with all these concerns that rightfully should have worried them all along.

Otherwise it might be an age thing. Some women who are interested in teen boys might not be a danger to infants and toddlers or their spouse might believe so anyway, even if not true. Some male SOs have a wide age range among their victims and I see no reason why some female SOs couldn't have as well.

IMO it could be dangerous to think that if someone's offended (or got caught) only once they're not likely to hurt anybody ever again. Not talking about the mother, specifically, but generally speaking. I don't want to cast any aspersions at the mother during what must be a very difficult time in her life since she does not appear to be a suspect here.

 

[CarrieBean]

Wonder if Tanya had a new boyfriend. Hoping the kids are camping out somewhere, safe. They're way to young to be out on their own for this long though. He has taken them before, but returned them. What is different this time? He can't return them?

 

[wannabedetective]

Not saying I necessarily believe that being worried about the mom molesting the children made him hide them, but generally I think it's not uncommon that spouses (males and females alike) turn the blind eye as long as the relationship seems okay and they're still in lurrrve, and then when they break up they come up with all these concerns that rightfully should have worried them all along.

Otherwise it might be an age thing. Some women who are interested in teen boys might not be a danger to infants and toddlers or their spouse might believe so anyway, even if not true. Some male SOs have a wide age range among their victims and I see no reason why some female SOs couldn't have as well.

IMO it could be dangerous to think that if someone's offended (or got caught) only once they're not likely to hurt anybody ever again. Not talking about the mother, specifically, but generally speaking. I don't want to cast any aspersions at the mother during what must be a very difficult time in her life since she does not appear to be a suspect here.

Point taken. I'll reiterate that I certainly don't condone her behavior from 12 years ago, however, the fact that there have not been any other complaints leads me to believe that it's POSSIBLE that it was a single incident. I very poor choice of judgment and a mistake she'll always regret. I don't know why I keep giving her the benefit of the doubt, but I really don't think she's the issue here...or am I just being naive.

 

[darlin gal]

With nightfall, police have discontinued the two-state search for three missing brothers, saying it would resume in the morning.
Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks said the search would continue until authorities can find the Skelton boys, ages 9, 7 and 5.
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"Until we've exhausted everything, we're moving on," he told about a hundred emergency personnel and volunteers huddled in the city fire department.
The search will continue Tuesday and focus on an area from Morenci to Pioneer, Ohio, and down to Holiday City and West Unity. Authorities have developed evidence, including cell phone activity that puts John Skelton, 39, in those areas.


From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101129...enci-boys-on-hold-until-morning#ixzz16ipiPsVx

That search began after Fire Chief Scott Damon of Cambridge Township, Mich., told a group of firefighters preparing to search that Skelton "may have just dumped them on the road." He said later that they were looking for any evidence.
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http://detnews.com/article/20101129...enci-boys-on-hold-until-morning#ixzz16ipiPsVx​

 

[CarrieBean]

Point taken. I'll reiterate that I certainly don't condone her behavior from 12 years ago, however, the fact that there have not been any other complaints leads me to believe that it's POSSIBLE that it was a single incident. I very poor choice of judgment and a mistake she'll always regret. I don't know why I keep giving her the benefit of the doubt, but I really don't think she's the issue here...or am I just being naive.

Although her past is disgusting to me, I understand what you're saying. I'm not as convinced that this was all to protect the kids, but rather to spite her.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Wonder if Tanya had a new boyfriend. Hoping the kids are camping out somewhere, safe. They're way to young to be out on their own for this long though. He has taken them before, but returned them. What is different this time? He can't return them?

It's been very cold in lower Michigan since Thanksgiving Day, so there's no way that those three little guys could survive outdoors for very long unless they're in a heated cabin or trailer. If they were on their way to Jacksonville to be with their grandmother, they would have arrived by now.

The fact that these boys might have "gone missing" during the wee hours of Friday morning (4-7:00AM) is reminiscent of the Susan Powell case. Josh Powell took their two young sons out "camping" late at night during a snowstorm. Susan has not been seen or heard from since

 

[darlin gal]

The father of three missing Michigan boys was out of work, his marriage had fallen apart and he'd lost custody of his children in the months before he told police that he gave the boys to an acquaintance and tried to kill himself.

Tanya Skelton's original divorce motion asked for custody because John Skelton was a long-haul truck driver gone for long periods of time, but Herrera said John Skelton hadn't worked in a while. Tanya Skelton, who described herself in court documents as an at-home mother, attends a local college or community college, Herrera said.
The couple had filed for bankruptcy in 2003, and the case was cleared later that year. Tanya Skelton asked for alimony and child support when she filed for divorce in September.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-30/father-of-missing-mich-boys-had-lost-job-custody.html

 

[Donjeta]

Point taken. I'll reiterate that I certainly don't condone her behavior from 12 years ago, however, the fact that there have not been any other complaints leads me to believe that it's POSSIBLE that it was a single incident. I very poor choice of judgment and a mistake she'll always regret. I don't know why I keep giving her the benefit of the doubt, but I really don't think she's the issue here...or am I just being naive.

Well, I think we absolutely should give her the benefit of the doubt when it comes to molesting her own children or anybody else she hasn't been convicted of molesting, since based on what we know she's among the victims, not the perp here. But IMO her conviction is a relevant issue since it was used in the custody fight and it seems very likely that the custody fight has something to do with the motive.