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Former child actor, Skylar Deleon, 29, is facing the possibility of the death penalty for his role in the murders of Tom and Jackie Hawks, a middle aged couple from Arizona. Deleon is known for having briefly acted on the 1990s children show entitled the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers."
Deleon's trial is the second in a series of trials that he and his alleged accomplices will face for these murders. While Deleon's ex-wife, Jennifer Henderson, was convicted and sentenced in 2006 to two life terms (without the possibility of parole) for these crimes, three others – Myron Gardner, Alonso Machain and John Fitzgerald Kennedy – have yet to be tried.
Gardner, Machain and Kennedy – like Deleon – are being charged with murder and murder for financial gain. All are pleading "not guilty."
The murders of Tom and Jackie Hawks took place in 2004 when the couple, who was attempting to sell their 55-foot yacht named "Well Deserved," was duped and then overpowered by Deleon and his accomplices.
Prosecutors will argue that Deleon faked an interest in the $440,000 yacht and then, with the help of Machain and Kennedy, forced the couple to take them on a "test drive" and forfeit ownership of the boat.
Deleon and his accomplices allegedly tied the Hawks to an anchor and threw them into the Pacific. Neither of the bodies have been found.
Following the murders, Deleon and Henderson, who were married at the time, then cleaned the yacht with bleach and bribed a notary to forge paperwork that would backdate the transfer of the yacht's ownership.
These counterfeit ownership papers, in addition to Machain's confession and testimony, are the key pieces of evidence around which prosecutors are building their case.
The yacht murders are only a few of many crimes Deleon is suspected to have committed. Other charges Deleon has yet to stand trial for include:
If successfully convicted, Deleon will likely receive the death penalty for his crimes.
(Source: CNN)
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