That night, about 200 people gathered for a prayer vigil at a church in Morenci, a small, mostly blue-collar and farming community just north of the Ohio state line. Lights were strung on poles along the town's main street, and festive decorations adorned windows in some of the shops and eateries in town.
Friends said the Skelton boys also started celebrating the holidays early by making greeting cards. One of the older brothers wrote "Jesus is awesome" on his and drew a Nativity scene, said Kathye Herrera, a friend of Tanya Skelton who is serving as the family's spokeswoman.
"They love church. They love the interaction, and they know all about Jesus," Herrera said.
Herrera said the boys' parents have been married for 10 years but are in the process of getting a divorce. She said that earlier this year, John Skelton picked his two older sons up from school and took them to Florida, but later returned to Michigan. Custody was awarded to Tanya Skelton, though John Skelton "had been seeing the boys with no issues," Herrera said.
Herrera said Tanya Skelton attends a local college or community college and John Skelton was a long-haul truck driver who hasn't been working in while.
John Skelton's mother, Roxann Skelton of Jacksonville, Fla., told the Detroit Free Press that her son wouldn't hurt his children. She didn't return a phone message from The Associated Press.
"I know my son, he's not a monster," she told the newspaper. "He's a good son and he would not harm his boys. I know those children are, you know, still with us."
http://www.loyolamaroon.com/search-to-resume-for-3-young-mich-brothers-1.2420562
John Skelton's sister, Lucinda Ford, said Tuesday that her brother became depressed following divorce proceedings. She claimed Tanya Skelton threatened to prevent him from seeing the children. Neither Tanya Skelton nor other family members could be reached for comment.
Ford spoke from her home in Jacksonville, Fla. She said her brother's desperation peaked the day before Thanksgiving after an alleged confrontation with Tanya Skelton, in which she allegedly told him he could no longer see his children.
Despite her brother's arrest Tuesday afternoon and statements by law enforcement that the boys likely were dead, Ford said she still believed they are alive. She said her brother had told her the children were in a safe place he wouldn't disclose.
"He is not a monster. He is a good father," Ford said. "The children are his life; he loves those boys."
Ford said the couple's relationship troubles began two years ago, after John Skelton lost his job as a long-haul truck driver. She said that the couple had planned to move to Florida so he could look for work, but that Tanya Skelton changed her mind at the last minute. She said Tanya Skelton had difficulty finding work herself because she had been convicted of a sex offense committed years ago with a 14-year-old boy.
Among the postings on John Skelton's Facebook page Tuesday was a commentary dated Nov. 21, in which the father described how his kids had called 9-1-1 the previous night while they were in the house with him. Mr. Skelton said the children called 9-1-1 because he was upstairs on the phone and the boys mistakenly believed they were home alone. Official police records concerning the call could not be accessed Tuesday.
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/58202
Seems like the whole family is sort of scripted..."He's not a monster..." "The boys are his life." The same statements over and over from different family members.
