(WXYZ) — John Skelton, the father who was charged with murder of his three sons who went missing in Lenawee County in 2010, was in court on Monday as the preliminary hearing began.
Skelton was charged with murder in November 2025, nearly 15 years after the three brothers — Andrew, Alexander and Tanner — went missing.
The preliminary hearing is expected to take several days, and during the hearing, a judge will determine if there is enough evidence for Skelton to stand trial.
Watch Ryan Marshall's report below
Yesterday, prosecutors began laying out their case against Skelton, attempting to prove why he should be tried on Open Murder chages for his three young sons; Andrew, Alexander and Tanner.
Prosecutors are expected to present cell phone tracking data and Skelton's online search history, which included searches on how to kill a person, made around the time they disapperaed.
During her testimony, Skelton's ex-wife and the boys' mother, Tanya Zuvers, said that Skelton was upset when she told them they were not getting back together.
"He already took them once," Zuvers said. "I didn't trust him to not take them again, just by the way he was acting. And when he asked 'was there any chance for us?', I finally just said 'no, there's not, we are not, this is not working.'"
When asked by Skelton's attorney if Skelton ever expressed any messages that would confess to harming these children, Zuvers said, "No because I saw my children up until November 26th." She went on to say that Skelton never sent her a threatening messages saying that he was going to hurt the children.
Family pastor Donna Galloway from the Morenci United Methodist Church says she recalls Skelton saying a woman was watching the boys, but when they never came home that night, she went to see him in person.
The pastor testified that she would frequently say that Heaven is her home. That's why her concern turned to sorrow when she heard what Skelton told her.
"And he said to me, 'Pastor Donna, you of all people should understand what I mean when I say that they're home,'" Galloway testified, fighting back tears.
The hearing is expected to last several days. Once pre-trial is over, the judge will decide if there's enough evidence to go to a full trial.
Watch our previous coverage
