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Following the announcement that John Skelton, the father of three missing boys from Morenci 15 years ago, is being charged with their murder, Levine & Levine Criminal Defense Attorney Sarissa Montague explained that the delay in the charges is highly unusual, but not unheard of.
“There are a few charges that don’t have statute of limitations, that’s why we’re able to see murder charges later,” said Montague in an interview with WILX.
Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton vanished on Thanksgiving 15 years ago. The boys were ages 9, 7 and 5 and were last seen with their father, John Skelton. At that time, John Skelton was convicted of three counts of unlawful imprisonment for the boys’ disappearance.
On Nov. 12, 2025, prosecutors charged Skelton with three counts of open murder and three counts of tampering with evidence. Skelton has spent the last decade and a half behind bars, but was never formally accused of killing his sons. He served the 15-year sentence and was originally set to be released on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. But now these new charges have complicated Skelton’s discharge and have experts asking more questions.
“(Prosecutors) had 15 years up to this point to authorize, and they haven’t, so chances are, knowing that (Skelton’s) about to be released is probably the catalyst for why the charges were issued at this point,” Montague said during her interview.
The three boys were declared legally dead in March of this year, but their bodies have never been found. Their mother, Tanya Zuvers, previously claimed Skelton was responsible for killing the boys.
Montague says without the evidence of the bodies, prosecutors will have to use other elements in the case to prove Skelton was responsible.
Watch the full interview, here.
