Judge hears evidence in petitions to declare three Lenawee County children legally dead

Summary

At a bench hearing in Lenawee County Probate & Juvenile Court, law enforcement testimony described the 2010 disappearance of three children and investigative steps taken since. The petitioner argued Michigan’s presumption-of-death statute controls; police described forensic leads, an Amber Alert and the later arrest of the children’s father.

LANSING, Mich. — The Lenawee County Probate & Juvenile Court on Thursday heard testimony in three consolidated petitions asking the court to declare three children — Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton — legally dead and to fix the date of death at about Nov. 26, 2010.

Petition counsel opened by saying the petitions were governed by Michigan Compiled Laws MCL 700.1208(2), which creates a presumption of death when an individual has been absent and unheard from for five continuous years unless evidence establishes an earlier date. "We believe that MCL 700.1208, paragraph 2, is what controls in this matter," counsel told the judge.

The court heard lengthy testimony from Larry Weeks, then the Morenci (Mich.) police chief, who described the department’s response after the three children were not returned to their mother on Nov. 26, 2010. Weeks testified that officers found the Skelton home in disarray on arrival, including broken glass, cut electrical cords, a noose hung from an upper balcony and what investigators concluded was a suicide note.

Weeks said officers recovered items the children likely used — toothbrushes and winter coats — that John Skelton had allegedly left with relatives the morning of Nov. 26. He testified…

Judge hears evidence in petitions to declare three Lenawee County children legally dead

Summary

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