A Michigan dad has been charged with murder 15 years after his three young sons disappeared.
John Skelton, 53, was already in prison on a charge of unlawful imprisonment related to the 2010 disappearance of his three sons Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5, ABC-13 reported.
Skelton was set to be released in a few weeks after serving his sentence but now faces murder charges. The boys' mother, Tanya Zuvers, went to court earlier this year to have her missing sons declared dead.
Although the boys were presumed dead after five years under Michigan law, Zuvers asked the court for the ruling because she said it would provide her closure and provide "respect" to the boys, the Associated Press reported.
The case unfolded over Thanksgiving when the boys were staying with Skelton. He was supposed to return the boys to Zuvers by the end of the weekend but never did. Zuvers called the police, and the boys have never been found, ABC-13 reported.
According to PEOPLE, the boys were last seen playing in Skelton's backyard. When police searched Skelton's residence, they found a noose hanging from the second floor, a Bible open with a verse circled, and a note that seemed to address the boy's mother.
"It has been fifteen long years since our three boys - Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner- went missing. Throughout this time, our family has lived with unimaginable pain, unanswered questions, and the constant hope that one day we might learn the truth about what happened to them," the boys' family said in a statement to ABC-13.
"Today, we have been informed that an arrest warrant has been issued for John Skelton, who has been incarcerated for the past fifteen years and was scheduled for release in just over two weeks. This latest development has left us shocked and heartbroken all over again," the statement read.
