Murder charges in Skelton boys case moves into preliminary exam stage

A court hearing begins Monday in Adrian in the case against John Skelton, the Michigan father accused of murder in the deaths of his three sons, who went missing in 2010. 

The proceedings are taking place in Lenawee County 2A District Court. The preliminary exam process is likely to last for two weeks. 

Skelton 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 his children. The Michigan State Police led the investigation.

The boys — Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5 — were last seen alive on Nov. 25, 2010. None of them have been found, despite repeated searches in Michigan and Ohio, and attempts to match them up to human remains found in Montana in 2017 and remains found in Tennessee in 2026. 

The Skelton boys were formally declared dead in March 2025, upon the request of their mother, Tanya Zuvers.