MORENCI, Mich., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A Michigan man will be sentenced Thursday after pleading no contest to unlawful imprisonment in the disappearance of his three sons, officials say.
John Skelton of Morenci, Mich., maintained he turned his sons -- Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5 -- over to a secret child protection agency shortly after Thanksgiving. Investigators said the agency doesn't exist and have found no traces of the boys. Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks has said he thinks the man killed the children.
A plea bargain was arranged in which kidnapping charges were dropped in exchange for Skelton's no contest plea. The unlawful imprisonment charge carries a lighter sentence, up to 15 years, but would allow investigators to bring murder charges against Skelton if the boys are found dead, The Detroit News reported Wednesday.
Skelton reportedly researched how to break necks on his computer and told investigators he had nightmares of seeing the boys in or behind a trash bin. He also said he envisioned leaving his sons in a park or an abandoned schoolhouse.
Skelton and the boys' mother, Tonya Zuvers, were in the midst of a bitter divorce when the children disappeared.
