John Skelton pretrial rescheduled for December, murder trial could take 30 days
The jury trial in the case of a Southeast Michigan man accused of murder in the deaths of his three young boys is expected to last for 30 days.
That's according to notes placed in the Lenawee County 39th Circuit Court docket on Wednesday after attorneys met with the judge for a pretrial conference on the charges against John Skelton. He faces open murder charges in connection with the disappearance of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton, last seen in November 2010.
The pretrial was adjourned to Dec. 16 to allow for completion of transcripts from the preliminary exam that concluded on Sept. 3 in the Lenawee County 2A District Court and to prepare for any motions to be filed, the court docket indicated.
Skelton's attorney also told court officials that he expects the case to be scheduled for a 30-day jury trial.
Background on the Skelton case
The Skelton boys, who were ages 9, 7, and 5 at the time they were reported missing, have never been found. There were repeated searches in Michigan and Ohio, and attempts to match them to human remains found in Montana in 2017 and remains found in Tennessee in 2026.
The Skelton boys were legally declared dead in March 2025, upon the request of their mother, Tanya Zuvers.
Their father was charged Nov. 12 with three counts of open murder and three counts of tampering with evidence. Those charges were filed about two weeks before his expected release from prison on earlier charges stemming from the investigation of the whereabouts of the boys.
The Michigan State Police led the investigation.
The above video originally aired on Sept. 3, 2026.
