Evil Dad Hit w Kid Killer Charges, $60mil Bond Days Before Being Freed| Crime Alert 6AM 11.20.2025

A Michigan father who was about to taste freedom is suddenly hit with murder charges & a $60mil bond...accused of killing his 3 kids after disastrous Thanksgiving custody visit. The boys vanished without a trace in 2010. 

A Tennessee tot is dead, tortured at the hands of his father's girlfriend. Plus, a thief tries to make money off mourning. Jennifer Gould reports. 

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alart hourly update, breaking crime news. Now. I'm Jennifer Gould,
a Michigan father about to walk free after serving time
for imprisoning his three young sons, just got slapped with
a gut punch act of justice, almost a year to
the day those boys disappeared. John Skelton, fifty three, the

(00:23):
dad who spent a decade long lie about his boys
being in an underground sanctuary, was just charged with their
premeditated murders, a bombshell reveal driven by his own chilling
digital footprint. Michigan State Police Lieutenant Renee Gonzalez spoke to

(00:43):
Inside Edition, it was never our intention just to close
this case and be happy that he did fifteen years.
We want him to answer up for the murder of
these three boys. Skelton now faces three counts of open
murder and three counts of tampering with evidence in the
deaths of Andrew nine, Alexander seven, and Tanner five, prosecutors

(01:04):
announced just days before his scheduled release from Bellamy Creek
Correctional Facility on November twenty ninth. His prison stint stemmed
from his refusal to return the boys to their mom,
Tanya Zuvers, after a disastrous Thanksgiving custody visit. In twenty ten,

(01:24):
explosive details from County prosecuting attorney Jacqueline Wise's probable cause
affidavit lay bare a portrait of calculated, sinister deception. In
the frantic week leading up to the boys November twenty fifth,
twenty sixth, vanishing investigators found Skelton had scoured the Internet

(01:45):
for different ways to kill a person listen.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Part of the searches included the search for potassium cyanide,
the availability of prussic acid, is wrap poisoned, tasteless and odorless?
Can rapt poison kill a person? Is it orderless and tasteless?
Those were the search terms.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
What does that mean to you?

Speaker 2 (02:07):
A definite interest in finding something that could harm or
kill someone.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
The crime scene at his home was found in utter
disarray after a botched suicide attempt landed him in the hospital.
Police later discovered a haunting note to Zuver's that simply
read quote you will hate me end quote, which FBI
agents now interpret as a veiled admission tied directly to

(02:32):
the slayings. This new evidence shatters Skelton's fifteen year charade
of claiming his sons were merely quote hibernating until they
graduate end quote. Despite exhaustive searches, the boys remains remained
cruelly elusive. Skelton, who offered zero leads at a March
court hearing where his sons were declared legally dead, was arraigned.

(02:56):
The father was slapped with a staggering sixty million dollars bond,
ensuring he stays locked up at the county jail as
he awaits a preliminary hearing set for November twenty fourth.
If convicted, Skelton faces life behind bars for the murder
of the three boys. For the latest crime and justice news,

(03:17):
follow Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on your favorite podcast app.
Also watch Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on Fox one
and YouTube more crime and justice news. After this, a
taught in Tennessee was allegedly subjected to a savage night
of torture that ended with his brutal execution, police say

(03:41):
at the hands of his father's own girlfriend. Kevin's devastated father,
Keith Horton, spoke to Fox thirteen News.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
I get to the house, he's standed outside. I got
to find apartment people in the house.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
I want to see my son he I call he Purple.
Dominika mos b twenty nine is now aged in Memphis
facing first degree murder and aggravated child abuse charges. In
the slang of Little Kevin Horton. The horror detailed in
charging documents unfolded after Kevin's dad left the three year
old boy in Moseby's care. Moseby initially lied, claiming the

(04:17):
boy was sick and vomiting, a claim vehemently denied by
Kevin's aunt, who had dropped him off and quote perfect
health end quote. Moseby later broke, admitting she first pressed
a lit cigarette into the toddler's ear. When the child,
writhing in pain, urinated on the floor, she retaliated with

(04:39):
calculated cruelty, using a lighter to inflict burns on his genital's.
Investigators revealed the savage assault escalated to a murderous climax
when the frustrated Moseby said she stomped on Kevin's stomach
with the heel of her boot and repeatedly pummeled his

(04:59):
torso and chest with open and closed fists because he
wouldn't lie down. The Shelby County Medical Examiner's report confirmed
the child's death was a homicide resulting from blunt force
trauma and thermal injuries, noting a lacerated liver, internal bleeding
in the abdomen, extensive bruising across his small body, and

(05:23):
severe burns to his ear in genitals. The fatal attack
occurred sometime before three am, when Moseby finally called police,
claiming she woke up to find the boy unresponsive. The aunt,
who had noticed prior suspicious marks on the boy, including
a split lip and deep cheek bruises, also told investigators

(05:44):
the prior injuries were inconsistent with rough play, suggesting a
pattern of abuse. Moseby remains in Shelby County Jail, held
without bond. The investigation continues, and finally, a case of
dirt nap drama in Alabama, Peter Pettiti, forty, is locked

(06:05):
up after running the most despicable six feet under hustle. Ever,
police say this serial burglar wasn't using a simple map.
He was using obituaries and Facebook to target homes where
residents had just passed away. He waited for residents to
check out to the funeral before he checked in to

(06:27):
steal jewels, electronics, and heirlooms. That's literally grave robbing. Petiti,
who was already out on bond, was busted again during
a traffic stop in Alabaster. His bond has been provoked
and he's facing burglary charges. Petiti tried to turn mourning
into money, but now this uninvited guest will be shacking

(06:49):
up in the slammer instead. No condolence cards for this crook.
For the latest crime and justice news, follow the Crime
Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app this Crime Alert.
I'm Jennifer Gould.