Skylar Deleon

Case record: Skylar Deleon

People

• Skylar Deleon — named as the perpetrator in the murders of Thomas Hawks and Jackie Hawks; also named as Skylar James Deleon and described as changing his name from John Jacobson Jr. He was a former American child actor and was sentenced to death.
• Thomas Hawks — victim; described as a retired probation officer and a bodybuilder.
• Jackie Hawks — victim; described as Thomas Hawks’s wife (formerly of Mentor-on-the-Lake, Ohio).
• Jennifer Henderson — named as a perpetrator; described as Skylar Deleon’s former wife and sentenced to two terms of life in prison without parole. She was also named in connection with charges and a conviction for first degree murder in the Hawks case.
• Jennifer Deleon — named as Skylar Deleon’s wife in the Hawks case; described as now calling herself Jennifer Henderson since her divorce from Skylar Deleon.
• Alonso Machain — described as a former correctional officer and named as a perpetrator/accused figure awaiting sentencing.
• Myron Gardner Sr. — named as an accomplice in the Hawks offence allegations and described as recruiting Kennedy.
• John Fitzgerald Kennedy — named as an accomplice in the Hawks offence allegations.
• Matt Murphy — identified as Senior Deputy District Attorney in the Homicide Unit and as prosecuting all three cases described regarding Deleon’s solicitation charges.
• Kathy Tomlinson — District Attorney Investigator identified as a contact for information about the Hawks murder or the Jarvi murder.
• Frank Fasel — identified as Orange County Superior Court Judge who sentenced Deleon to death.
• Evan Sailor — identified as a Newport Beach detective (Sgt. Evan Sailor) who described the Deleons during the investigation.
• Gary Pohlson — identified as Deleon’s attorney who spoke to reporters.
• Michael William Lewis, Jr. — identified as Deleon’s first cousin and as charged with helping conceal the Jarvi murder.

Timeline

• November 15, 2004 — Thomas Hawks and Jackie Hawks were last seen alive in the morning, heading out of the harbor; the yacht returned but they did not.
• November 26, 2004 — an attempt was made to access the Hawks’ bank account from Mexico.
• November 29, 2004 — police interviewed Skylar Deleon; he claimed he bought the boat from the Hawkses and described the Hawkses leaving with his money and denied being in their car, naming Alonso Machain as witness.
• December 26, 2003 — Jarvi cashed two $25,000 checks and called Skylar Deleon; two hours later Skylar Deleon was accused of spending $18,000 in new $100 bills at a boatyard and depositing $21,000 into the couple’s joint account.
• December 27, 2003 — Jarvi called Skylar Deleon in the morning; Skylar Deleon and Lewis were accused of driving down to Mexico that day, with frequent communication on both December 26 and 27.
• 2002 — Deleon was described as having been convicted for armed burglary and later claimed the boat purchase was intended to launder money related to that armed burglary.
• March 2, 2005 — Alonso Machain was arrested.
• March 2005 — Machain confessed to the crime and was arrested in connection with the couple’s disappearance, along with Deleon, Deleon’s wife Jennifer, and Kennedy.
• April 8, 2005 — Jennifer Deleon was arrested.
• August 16, 2005 — Skylar Deleon was arrested and charged with the murder of Thomas and Jackie Hawks.
• August 19, 2005 — Skylar Deleon was charged with special circumstances murder for financial gain of John Jarvi.
• October 2007 — Jennifer Deleon (now calling herself Jennifer Henderson) was sentenced to two life terms without the possibility of parole.
• March 13, 2008 — Deleon partially severed his penis with a razor blade while held in jail and was returned to jail the following day after medical attention.
• September 22, 2008 — jury selection began in the case against Skylar Deleon.
• October 20, 2008 — Deleon was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and special circumstances for financial gain and multiple victims.
• November 6, 2008 — the jury recommended the death penalty.
• January 16, 2009 — sentencing was originally scheduled.
• March 20, 2009 — sentencing was rescheduled to March 20 on request by Deleon’s attorney.
• April 10, 2009 — sentencing was rescheduled again to April 10 so the family of the victims could attend; on April 10, 2009, Deleon was sentenced to death by Orange County Superior Court Judge Frank Fasel.

Background

Skylar Deleon was described as a former American child actor who changed his name from John Jacobson Jr. He was described as the son of a convicted drug dealer. Deleon began acting in bit parts in commercials as a child. At age 14, he appeared in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as an extra in the episode “Second Chance.”

As an adult, Deleon struggled to remember lines, and his career faltered. At age 20, he joined the United States Marine Corps, went on Unauthorized Absence (UA) fifteen days later, and was later given an other than honorable discharge.

The victims were Thomas Hawks and Jackie Hawks, described as a couple from Prescott, Arizona, United States. The Hawks were also described as owning a 55-foot yacht named “Well Deserved,” which they treated as their permanent home and on which they sailed for two years around the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez.

In 2004, Thomas and Jackie Hawks decided to sell their yacht and set up home in Newport Harbor, to be closer to their family. Jackie Hawks helped raise the boys since they were in their early teens and considered a new baby as her grandson.

An advertisement of the sale of the yacht was answered in November by Skylar Deleon. The couple initially was cautious of Deleon but became more receptive when he brought his then-pregnant wife Jennifer and their other child to a meeting.

Thomas Hawks was described as a retired probation officer and a bodybuilder.

The offence (Hawks)

Police allegations stated that during a sea test in Newport Beach Harbor a few days after meeting the Hawkses, Deleon and three accomplices — Alonso Machain, Myron Gardner, and John Fitzgerald Kennedy — bound and gagged Thomas Hawks and Jackie Hawks and threw them overboard.

Deleon was alleged to have masterminded the plan to kill the couple for financial gain and enlist Kennedy and Machain to help.

In the later charging description, the Hawks were accused of being overpowered, forced to sign transfer of title documents, and then being handcuffed, tied to the anchor, and drowned.

The charging narrative also stated that Skylar and Jennifer were accused of communicating frequently by cell phone while the boat was out, and of cleaning the boat with bleach and destroying evidence and personal items belonging to the Hawks. It also alleged the Deleons obtained papers signed by the Hawks notarized with backdates.

The Deleons were accused of trying to take money out of the Hawks’ bank account in Arizona and placing it in a bank account in Mexico, and of trying to create evidence that the Hawks were moving to Mexico after they were murdered.

The Hawks’ bodies were never found.

Investigation (Hawks)

Police inquired into the couple’s disappearance.

On November 26, 2004, an attempt was made to access the Hawks’ bank account from Mexico. The family was notified and filed a missing person report with the Carlsbad police department.

On November 29, 2004, the police interviewed Skylar Deleon. He told police that he bought the boat from the Hawkses and showed proof-of-purchase documents. He stated the Hawks left in their car with his money, denied being in their car, and named Alonso Machain as witness to the purchase.

Deleon claimed the reason he bought the boat was intended to launder money related to an armed burglary in 2002 for which he had been convicted.

Deleon and Jennifer Deleon later told detectives they had bought the Well Deserved and that the Hawks had gone to Mexico, and they said there were signed, notarized documents as proof.

Sgt. Evan Sailor described the couple as “cool as cucumbers” and said the documents “both came off as genuine,” adding:

“They both came off as genuine,” recalls Sgt. Evan Sailor, a Newport Beach detective. “They were cool as cucumbers. . . . This guy was probably the best pathological liar I've ever met.”

Investigators described various evidence items including a receipt found aboard the Well Deserved listing items bought at a Target: bleach, trash bags and Tums, and video showing Jennifer Deleon as the buyer. Investigators described that the Hawkses’ Honda CRV was discovered near Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, and that people who had it said the Deleons gave it to them. A notary was described as having confessed to being paid a $2,000 bribe to backdate documents for the yacht sale, and authorities described finding items taken from the yacht when they searched Jennifer Deleon’s parents’ house.

Machain confessed in March 2005 and was arrested in connection with the couple’s disappearance, along with Deleon, Deleon’s wife Jennifer, and Kennedy.

Arrest and charges (Hawks)

Skylar Deleon was described as arrested on January 16, 2005 while trying to leave for Mexico.

The narrative also described the arrests of:

• Machain on March 2, 2005
• Gardner the next day
• Kennedy a week later
• Jennifer Deleon on April 8, 2005

The charges included special circumstances murder on multiple victim and financial gain allegations.

The charging narrative described that Deleon was charged with a “Strike” from a 2003 residential burglary case, and that Kennedy was charged with a “Strike” from a 1988 attempted murder case.

During a preliminary examination in 2005, defendant Jennifer Deleon laughed during the hearing while the grieving Hawks family watched.

Trial (Hawks)

Deleon initially maintained innocence, claiming he was not present at the time and that the couple were killed over a drug deal gone bad. Kennedy pleaded not guilty, and the narrative described that Jennifer Deleon was found guilty on two counts of first degree murder on Friday November 17, 2006, after only four hours of jury deliberation.

The Hawks proceedings also included mention of Deleon being charged while awaiting trial in jail with soliciting another inmate to murder his father and cousin.

The narrative described that Deleon was accused of killing John Jarvi, and that the father and cousin were considered “important witnesses” in both murder cases.

Sentencing (Hawks)

In October 2007, Jennifer Deleon (now calling herself Jennifer Henderson since her divorce from Skylar Deleon) was sentenced to two life terms without the possibility of parole.

On April 10, 2009, Deleon was sentenced to death by Orange County Superior Court Judge Frank Fasel. He was described as awaiting the death penalty in Orange County Jail.

The sentencing was described as being rescheduled:

• originally scheduled for January 16, 2009
• rescheduled to March 20, 2009
• announced rescheduling again to April 10 so the family of the victims could attend.

Appeals

No appeal outcome or appeal dates were provided.

Outcome (Hawks)

• Jennifer Deleon (Jennifer Henderson) was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to two terms of life in prison without parole.
• Skylar Deleon was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and special circumstances for financial gain and multiple victims, and was sentenced to death on April 10, 2009.
• A fourth person, Alonso Machain, was described as awaiting sentencing.
• Kennedy was described as pleading not guilty (and three other defendants were described as having pleaded not guilty, with two accused of being on the yacht and the final defendant accused of planning the killings but not of being on the boat).

The offence (Jarvi)

The narrative included the Jarvi case.

On August 19, 2005, Skylar Deleon was charged with special circumstances murder for financial gain of John Jarvi, age 45, of Anaheim.

Jennifer Deleon and Deleon’s first cousin Michael William Lewis, Jr., age 25, of Arizona, were charged with helping Skylar Deleon conceal the murder.

The narrative stated that if convicted, Skylar Deleon could receive life without the possibility of parole. Jennifer Deleon and Lewis were described as facing three years in state prison for the Jarvi murder plot.

Jarvi was described as having met Skylar Deleon while they were serving a work furlough program at a private jail in Seal Beach in 2003.

Jarvi’s body, with his throat slashed, was found about 4 p.m. next to the northbound lane near Ensenada. The narrative stated that Skylar Deleon’s car crossed the U.S. border around two hours later.

A week later, the Deleons were accused of getting rid of Jarvi’s car.

Investigation (Jarvi)

On December 26, 2003, Jarvi cashed two $25,000 checks at his bank in Laguna Beach and immediately called Skylar Deleon. Two hours after the call, Skylar Deleon was accused of spending $18,000 in new $100 bills at a boatyard and depositing $21,000 into the couple’s joint account.

On December 27, 2003, Jarvi called Skylar Deleon in the morning. Skylar Deleon and Lewis were accused of driving down to Mexico that day, and were described as having frequent communication with each other on both December 26 and 27.

Jarvi’s body with his throat slashed was found about 4 p.m. next to the northbound lane near Ensenada, and Skylar Deleon’s car crossed the U.S. border around two hours later.

Other offence-related details (solicitation)

Deleon was charged with soliciting the murder of his own father and another witness while he was in custody for two different murder cases.

The charging narrative stated:

• On January 24, 2004, Deleon was accused of asking a fellow inmate in jail to murder his father John Jacobson Sr. with intent that the murder be carried out.
• On July 26, 2005, Deleon was accused of asking a fellow inmate in jail to murder Mike Lewis with intent that the murder be carried out; Jacobson Sr. and Lewis were described as witnesses.

The narrative identified Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy as prosecuting all three cases.

Other charges and jail incident

While awaiting trial in jail, Deleon was charged with soliciting another inmate to murder his father and cousin.

The narrative also described Deleon partially severing his penis with a razor blade on March 13, 2008 and returning to jail the following day after medical attention.

Other details

Deleon was described as being a 26-year-old actor and as being arrested and charged with the Hawks murder.

A quote from Gary Pohlson was included, along with his description of Deleon’s background. Pohlson told reporters:

“He's had a horrible, horrible life,” Pohlson said, noting that Deleon's father abused him and later died of AIDS.

Deleon’s attorney was described as conceding to the jury from the outset that Deleon was guilty but should not be put to death. The narrative also stated that the penalty phase of the trial was expected to begin on Wednesday (in connection with the conviction report).

A newspaper-style narrative included statements from Jackie Hawks and from witnesses. The narrative quoted Jackie Hawks pleading:

“I don't want to die,” Jackie pleaded, her words muffled by duct tape.
“I have a new grandchild in Arizona. I want to see him.”

The narrative also included quoted statements attributed to Matt Hawks and Mike Lewis (as quoted content did appear in the included run-on narrative). The narrative attributed to Machain:

“He would go and look for these people, kill them, and he would keep whatever money was left,” Machain later recounted in court. “He approached me and said, 'Would you like to make a few million dollars?' ”

“He knew what was going on, and he pushed back,” Machain said. “I think it was his, his right leg, I guess, kicked backwards, and Deleon was behind him trying to tie him and Deleon kind of flew back on his back. . . . ”

“If it wasn't for Mrs. Hawks, he probably would have been on the floor.”

“He pulled out one of the fishing poles and started fishing from the back of the boat while he was also drinking.”

The narrative included the quote: