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Judge Sets May Preliminary Exam in Skelton Brothers Murder Case

The hearing was moved from March to give the defense time to review what the judge described as an enormous body of evidence.

Overview

  • At a Dec. 17 probable cause conference in Lenawee County 2A District Court, the judge scheduled the preliminary examination for May 11–20, 2026.
  • The multi-day exam is slated for May 11–15 and May 18–20, when prosecutors must show sufficient cause to proceed and the defense can cross-examine witnesses.
  • John Skelton, 53, faces three counts of open murder and three counts of evidence tampering filed Nov. 12, about two weeks before his expected release on an unlawful-imprisonment sentence.
  • He remains in the Lenawee County Jail on a $60 million bond.
  • Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5, vanished in 2010, were declared legally dead in March 2025, and investigators cite phone data and Skelton’s shifting accounts as central to the case.