Michigan mother asks judge to declare 3 missing sons dead nearly 15 years later

This plaque honors the missing Skelton brothers in the municipal park on the banks of Bean Creek in Morenci, Mich., on Jan. 27, 2017. (Dale G. Young/Detroit News via AP)

ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan woman is asking a judge to declare her three missing sons dead, nearly 15 years after their father didn't return them after Thanksgiving. The disappearance has tormented a small town near Ohio and remains unsolved.

Authorities believe the brothers are deceased and they clearly suspect John Skelton is responsible, though he has not been charged with killing his sons. By November, he is expected to complete a 15-year prison sentence for his failure to give the boys back to Tanya Zuvers, the sole conviction in the saga.

A Lenawee County judge began hearing testimony Monday at an unusual hearing. The witness list includes Zuvers, as well as police investigators who will publicly discuss the yearslong effort to find any trace of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton.

Since November 2010, Zuvers has prayed someone "would cure her broken heart" with news about their whereabouts or that John Skelton would explain what really happened, attorney R. Burke Castleberry said in a court filing.

“Heartbreakingly, none of that has occurred,” he wrote.

Nathan Piwowarski, a lawyer in Cadillac, Michigan, who specializes in probate and estate law, said there can be many reasons to have someone declared dead, including "personal closure for the family."

A court declaration also could “give someone authority to pursue a wrongful death claim or other civil claim,” said Piwowarski, who is not involved in the case.

Castleberry declined to comment ahead of the hearing. Skelton, 53, appeared in court Monday by video conference from prison but said he didn't want to participate.

“Everyone has got lawyers. I don't,” he told Judge Catherine Sala. “I'm at a disadvantage. Anything I say isn’t going to make a difference.”

The brothers, ages 9, 7 and 5, lived in Morenci, a small community next to the Ohio border, 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of Detroit. Zuvers was seeking a divorce from Skelton in fall 2010 and the boys were with him, a few doors away, on Thanksgiving.

They were supposed to return to Zuvers the next morning. Instead, they were gone. Police later determined Skelton's phone was in Ohio at 4:30 a.m. before it was turned off and then turned back on at 6 a.m. in Morenci.

Skelton denied harming his sons and said they were with an underground group for their safety, among other murky explanations, according to investigators.

People spent weeks searching woods and waters in Michigan and Ohio. While in prison, Skelton told authorities that a man who helps people leave Amish communities might know about the boys, but Castleberry said it was “another lie.”

Investigators at the court hearing “will detail the farfetched, unfathomable yarns John Skelton spun, leading authorities on one wild goose chase after another,” Castleberry said.

Years have passed, but people in Morenci have not forgotten the Skelton brothers. A plaque with their names and images is attached to a rock at a park near Bean Creek. It says, “Faith, Hope, Love.”

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Ed White, The Associated Press