So Cal Slaughters's Podcast

The "Not" Well Deserved Murder of Thomas & Jackie Hawks

So Cal Slaughters Season 1 Episode 11

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0:00 | 51:07

🌊 In Episode 11 of SoCal Slaughters, we dive into the chilling murders of Tom and Jackie Hawks - a retired couple whose dream retirement at sea ended in betrayal, greed, and tragedy.

Hosts break down the scheme orchestrated by Skylar Deleon, the events leading up to the couple’s disappearance, and the investigation that uncovered one of Orange County’s most notorious murder cases. What began as the sale of a luxury yacht quickly turned into a horrifying crime that shocked Southern California.

⚠️ Trigger Warning: Murder, violence, kidnapping, financial exploitation, discussions of death, and graphic crime details.


🍹 Drink Feature ~ Ocean Breeze• 2 oz White Rum• 1 oz Pineapple Juice• 1 oz Orange Juice• 1 oz Blue Curaçao• Sprite

Directions: Fill a highball glass with ice. Add rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, and blue curaçao. Stir gently and top with Sprite. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

🥥 Bri-Lixer Version• Coconut water• Sprite• Blue curaçao-style NA syrup


📚 Sources referenced include: ABC News, NBC News, court records, documentary footage, and publicly available case materials related to the murders of Tom and Jackie Hawks.

🎙️ Subscribe to SoCal Slaughters for new episodes covering Southern California’s most infamous crimes, mysteries, and killers. New episodes every Sunday.

SPEAKER_04

Welcome to the podcast. I am Rachel. I'm Brie. I'm Joey. And this is South. This is SoCal Slaughters.

SPEAKER_01

All right.

SPEAKER_03

Yay.

SPEAKER_01

What are we gonna talk about?

SPEAKER_03

I don't know. I don't have anything. I really don't have anything today.

SPEAKER_01

No. It's summertime. It's hot as balls. Um, even though it's really only like 75 minutes. It's like 75.

SPEAKER_04

It's like mid-70s.

SPEAKER_03

But it's like a humid y kind of.

SPEAKER_01

No, we're just spoiled. We're we're spoiled by the beach. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Uh we got some merch.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, yes. That's something to talk about.

SPEAKER_03

I mean, I think I wore my hat last week, right? Uh you know, we just got it in. Yeah. Like, like literally that day.

SPEAKER_01

But the red one, you guys. It's really cute.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, they're cutie.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Um, yeah, we're gonna, we just kind of got stuff so far just to try it out. Yeah. Really, um, I think I wore my shirt already once uh yeah a couple times ago.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Make sure that we're supplying quality. And I think we found a go on these. So yeah, those are solid. Yeah. So I think we're gonna be able to the next shipment that we get, um, I think we're gonna be able to start offering the hats for sale. Yeah. Yeah. Heck yeah. So that's good. So reach out. Yeah, let us know um if you are interested in a hat.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Or yeah, and we can put them on hold. So at least if you know that you would like something, we'll also get as things progress and we find a good printer. So if you are listening and you know anybody that is a good screen printer, that's what we want. We want to have something quality, but I'm also trying to find somebody local. I have a lead on one person, but we'll see. But that's what I mean. We want shirts, sweaters, stickers, key. We'll get key changes eventually.

SPEAKER_04

Beer coofies, yeah, bumper stickers eventually.

SPEAKER_03

Um, yeah, I'm really excited to do um the next round of stickers because I want to do our little fun ones that I'm working on. Working on a little project there.

SPEAKER_01

So yeah, more to come. And we'll have a little merch store. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, somewhere. I don't I don't know how to do that yet, but we'll figure it out. Yeah, we'll we'll yeah, we'll figure it out.

SPEAKER_01

They have sites that are dedicated just to that, yeah, yeah, you know. So we've never sold anything online like that.

SPEAKER_03

So yeah, that'll be that'll be a fun thing for us to figure out during the season break. Yes, yeah, which is coming up, yes. Which is coming up, you guys. So by season two, we goal-oriented Lee will have a storefront available with merchandise in it. Or an online store, not storefront. I'm like storefront. That's what okay, sorry. That's what I meant, but that's not what it's called. Right. A storefront would be like a like a brick and mortar. Yeah. We won't have that, would be great, but we won't have that. That'd be cool. That'd be really cool. But no, we'll have an online situation. Something. Yes. Yeah. We'll keep you in the loop. Yeah, yeah. And then we'll like I don't know. We'll figure out a way to tell you what we have.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

No, no, we'll link it.

SPEAKER_03

Like a post, link it, we wear it. Wear it, yeah. Show you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my gosh, I have such a great idea for when we get all of it. Okay. Stay tuned.

SPEAKER_03

Stay tuned. Um what do we have to drink today?

SPEAKER_04

I'm so parched. Our case unfortunately takes place in the open water. So we have In the open water? Yes. I'm not a fan. Is it a shark? No. Oh.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

So this is an ocean breeze. This is what we're doing today. It's blue and pretty, like the it is very pretty. It is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. An ocean breeze. Ocean breeze. It's delicious. Yeah, it's a coconutty.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, I was worried about yours, but I'm glad it worked.

SPEAKER_01

I love me a coconutty um vacation drink. Yes.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, she does. Uh, we can attest to that.

SPEAKER_01

It would have been great if we would have found what I wanted when we were in Vegas, but you know what?

SPEAKER_03

Harder than you think to find in pina colada. Virgin Pina Colada in the appropriate glassware that she was looking for.

SPEAKER_01

I like the long ones, the yard things. Yard, yard stick.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Yard and whatever. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Remember when they used to have those at yard house and then they had the little clips that you could clip it into the side right here?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Oh, yeah. What was that? You love it or you hate it? That's really good. Okay, yay. Yeah. Is it good with the coconut water? Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It tastes good.

SPEAKER_03

Like the same coconutty, like oh yeah, I loved Malibu.

SPEAKER_01

It was good. It tastes very coconutty. I enjoy it. Yay, I'm so glad you had it. It's a wonderful alternative. And for um later on, I'm gonna have my delicious tea because what's better on a hot day than delicious tea? It's good. Peach tea is the best tea.

SPEAKER_03

I love peach tea.

SPEAKER_01

Look at this. I didn't even know. So I initially thought I was buying soda water because I didn't know that liquid death was anything other than water. And then I found out that they have soda water, which is like my favorite, and I ordered it, and then I got tea because I didn't read because I never read the description. Happy accident. Yes. This one is called Rest in Peach. It is freaking delicious. Flavored tea with agave and vitamins. Heck yeah. I mean, we are not sponsored in any way, shape, or form, but I'm gonna tell you what.

SPEAKER_03

Not opposed.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, not opposed at all. And it is delicious.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that um that's really good. And then um they also have other flavors of the iced tea, not just peach, right? Oh, yeah. There you've got like a variety.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I got a variety pack. There's four different flavors, and I feel like no matter what, we will be using them, we'll find a way to use them because they all have these really cool names that are definitely related to or could be related to any of the stories that we do.

SPEAKER_03

Yes. Yes. Oh my gosh, I just had an idea. Okay. Do you want to share with the class? Well, I guess we could announce it, I guess, that we're we didn't announce it last week that we're doing two-parter for the I see what it is.

SPEAKER_01

We might have. I got you. Oh, wait, it's still there. Thank you. Okay.

SPEAKER_03

I saved your life. So we decided to do a our first two-part episode. Thank you for saving my life. Um, we decided to do a two-part episode for the season finale. Um, and um, I have already planned the cocktail for the story if I was gonna do it just as one, but it's a lot of information and it deserves its time. So I was just gonna do the first episode of the the of part one with the cocktail that I was planning. And then we were just gonna drink whatever on the second one. No, we were gonna drink champagne, yeah, yeah. But um that one is the second part where the actual murder takes place. Oh, yeah, yeah, that one.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_03

And that would one is called the the Dead Billionaire.

SPEAKER_01

No, no, or it's called something else, a B and a B. It's called that's down there.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. But that would be a perfect one to drink. Yes. And I could make like, I mean, house housewives drink iced tea all the time, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

All the time.

SPEAKER_03

And like sun tea, baby. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I was gonna brew some today, and then I've remembered that I had these.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. And then like I could just make ours ice picks or something.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Even though she does not use an ice pick, though, that would have been awesome.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my gosh. No, I mean, it's awful. Oh I shouldn't have this many drinks in front of me, you guys. I almost spelled my drink. There's a lot of for those of you just listening to audio.

SPEAKER_03

We've, I think we've sp each one of us has almost or has spilled a drink, like I've definitely knocked at each episode. Yeah. One of these days it's gonna go everywhere. We've saved it.

SPEAKER_01

We've actually then we'll have that like to be continued or like that that yeah, the to be continued.

SPEAKER_03

It'll like come up in the beep, yeah, with like all the colors.

SPEAKER_01

But for now, we haven't yet.

SPEAKER_03

Yet knock on wood. Well, I don't have any though. Knock on uh plywood? Plywood, yeah.

unknown

Okay, top.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, wait, we don't do that yet. Yeah, we're gonna turn that even. Um, apologies for the coven episode and all of my insistent tapping.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, she's gets very when she's in I had a lot of points to make. When you're in it, you're in it, and you're like, this is what is going on. And it is your it's like your gavel.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. See, I didn't even hear that while we I listened to it multiple times through, but I didn't hear that. But that doesn't mean anything because maybe I just that's not what my hearing picked up on.

SPEAKER_03

But I think I couldn't not that it's worse when you watch it um on TV. Oh, okay. I think it wasn't so bad when I listened to it in the car, just the audio version, but when I watched it and I put it on my television, which is a very interesting thing to do to yourself and see yourself on TV.

SPEAKER_01

I'm not a fan, though.

SPEAKER_03

That's why I listen to it on my phone or in the car. Yeah, I we like we only watch it for the first time um on our phones because it's not available. You can't um screen whatever it you can.

SPEAKER_01

We can cast it.

SPEAKER_03

Not not in Dropbox, though. You there's no way to do it. So when we get like the first draft, we can only watch it on our phone.

SPEAKER_04

Unless you like save it to your phone and then do it, but that's a lot of exactly. And then that's a lot of storage. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And so that so then I try to put it on the screen so that I can kind of like test. I've tested it on my phone from the first draft. Then I try to cast it onto the my TV screen so I know what it's sounding like for people who are doing that, and then I listen to it in the car so I know what it sounds like audio-wise. And so in the this last in the Covina up episode, I'm on my TV was where it was because it's probably my sound bar or whatever.

SPEAKER_04

I was gonna say, because when I tried it on my laptop, it wasn't so bad. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I think it's because you have a quality TV and sound system that's accurate.

SPEAKER_03

So my husband is um very picky.

SPEAKER_01

And you have a like for the size of your TV, for the size of your place, correct, as well.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Um, yeah, I mean, he's one of those like only accepts the top of the line, which is not a bad thing.

SPEAKER_01

That's not a bad person to be married to. Obviously, only accepts top of the line.

SPEAKER_04

Yes, get you. Although maybe I was just overcritical because I was coming out of a root canal when I listened to it. So maybe I was just angry.

SPEAKER_01

Listen, I believe that to be true.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

As somebody in this industry, I could understand like graduated, like in like in the industry, like actually.

SPEAKER_01

In the industry, um, in the dental field. I don't know if you guys know about that. Yeah. Um, but I know what it's like to be working in a mouth. I could not imagine, I mean, outside of it.

unknown

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Not to be angry after that. Don't recommend not my first canal, root canal, and it probably won't be my last.

SPEAKER_03

Have you like had pain like that in your mouth before? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I'm Native American. I have horrible genetic dental health.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It sucks. I mean, if if you've been around me for long periods of time, I will have been flossing around you. I am obsessed with it. I will floss, I will brush, I will do all those things. Doesn't matter. The the you cannot fight genetics. So I absolutely have had that and I've had terrible pain. I had to go during COVID. Oh. Like I think I remember that. Yeah. Like I was just in so much pain. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Cause I was trying to remember if I've ever had like, but yeah, now I think I remember that. It was because it was during COVID.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Um, it was it was a really strange experience in a dental office during COVID. And I've heard about it from now, like the people that went through it because they had to wait so long to open back up.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

But oh my god, I couldn't imagine. Luckily, none of my teeth issues happened during that.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Cause that would have been a nightmare.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. More you would have just gone and had to be. Or ripped it out my freaking soft. Oh, don't do that. That sounds like it's what they did back in the old days. Actual horror. Yeah, but they also died from the infection.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. True. Actual horror.

SPEAKER_01

Like, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

That's why I have something. That's what I think actual horror is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

She doesn't even use Novocaine.

SPEAKER_03

No, I don't like it. I don't like it. I once may have them give me seven shots.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I have a really high tolerance for pain.

SPEAKER_04

Normal life have a high tolerance for pain, but not when it comes to my teeth.

SPEAKER_01

I don't want to feel one thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

All right. Let's move on. Let's get in. Let's let's get in. Let's get into this situation. All right. Well, let's meet the hawks. Here's a little backstory. The sea hawks? The no, not the seahawks, just the regular hawks. Although I guess, no. Okay.

SPEAKER_03

Wait, I'm like, it's an ocean. Breathe. Open water. And it's blue. Yeah. Yeah. And green. And a little green. Anyway. Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Go hawks, by the way.

SPEAKER_04

Tom Hawks was born December 24th, 1946. On Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve. I don't like my last story, which also took place on Christmas Eve. Oh. Anyway. Full circle. Yeah, full circle. He grew up in Cardiff by the Sea, which is just south of Incinitas, with his brother Jim. Tom would later join the Air Force. He served in Vietnam and would later become a probation officer. His brother Jim became a police officer and was later police chief in Carlsbad. Oh cool.

SPEAKER_03

I love Carlsbad so much.

SPEAKER_04

Tom got married, had two sons, Ryan and Matthew, would later get divorced, and he and his sons moved to Prescott, Arizona. Jackie was born June 26, 1957. She grew up in Ohio and moved to northern Arizona after high school and got married. In 1985, her and her husband were riding a motorcycle and a car crashed into them, killing her husband. Jackie suffered internal injuries, which caused her to be infertile, and she was confined to a wheelchair for over a year.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_04

Wow.

SPEAKER_03

Don't ride motorcycles. See? See?

SPEAKER_04

Okay. Less than two years after the accident in 1987, Tom and Jackie would meet at a chili cook-off and they bonded over their love of fitness. They would marry in 1988. I was just gonna say you can love fitness and good food.

SPEAKER_03

Fitness, chili in your mouth.

SPEAKER_04

Oh my gosh. They would marry in 1989 and she raised his kids as her own and they called her mom. Tom always had a dream of living on a boat. So in November 2000, they purchased a 55-foot trawler, which for those who don't know is like a mini yacht.

SPEAKER_01

I was just gonna say, like, what do we know what length of boat falls under yacht?

SPEAKER_03

It goes from being a boat to a yacht, a yacht. Um is it troller? I maybe it is. Yeah, I did think I think I think troll. I think it's troller. Oh, I don't know for sure. You're probably correct, but I feel like that's what you do is you troll for fish.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, got it. Got it. Uh, they purchased this boat for $300,000 and they named it the Well Deserved.

SPEAKER_03

Oh. That's very cute. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

They upgraded it, that all the interior, all the new, like the new GPS system, they had a water filtration that would turn this the salt water into drinking water. Oh, yeah. They uh they decked this guy out. Well, if you're gonna ship as a girl, it is a few.

SPEAKER_01

It's a female, yeah. It's a vessel, it's a it's a female.

SPEAKER_03

Um, that is a very uh very good idea because if you are stuck out in the ocean, then boom.

SPEAKER_01

You're not gonna well, yeah, starting living out there.

SPEAKER_03

Thirst to death. Dehydrate? Yes, I have thirst. Thirst to death. I don't know. I thirst to death.

SPEAKER_04

The well-deserved was the well-deserved was moored at the Newport Beach 15th Street Dock. For those who don't know what mooring is, it is a little different from being in a dock. It is when it's in open water and the ship is anchored to a buoy, which is anchored to the ocean floor. Oh, I love this. Okay. Yeah.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

Like in Catalina. Yeah. So whenever you see those, yeah, they're not just floating, they're anchored.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, so they'll have those really long docks that come all the way out so that you can moor and walk to shore. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04

Got it. Yeah.

unknown

Interesting.

SPEAKER_04

They lived on this boat, they traveled up and down the coast of California, they went down to Mexico until 2004. Son Matt had a baby. Well, his partner had a baby.

unknown

I don't know.

SPEAKER_04

And this is their first grandchild. So they wanted to be near their grandchild. So they wanted now their new plan was to sell this uh troller and buy a small property in Mexico. They were, I'm sorry, the sons are still in Arizona as well. So they wanted to purchase a small place in Mexico so they could be in driving distance of their sons and they could buy like a smaller boat. Oh yeah. So they placed a ad in Yachting World magazine.

unknown

Yachting World.

SPEAKER_04

Yachting World. November 12th, 2004. They took the well-deserved along with his brother Jim and his boat and a bunch of friends, and they sailed to Catalina and they had a kind of like farewell party. They told their friends that November 15th they were meeting potential buyers and would hopefully complete this sale and be home by the Thanksgiving. Now it's November 16th, and no one can get a hold of Tom or Jackie, which is uh out of character. This was a very close-knit family, they talked every day. It's not like them to have their phones off.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and they have a son that's having a baby. Right.

SPEAKER_04

So Ryan calls his uncle Jim in San Diego. Jim drives up to Newport with their family friend Carter Ford, and they spot the well-deserved in its spot. However, they notice the dinghy is not tied properly. There's a proper way to do it. The motor wasn't placed correctly. So this sets them off. They head out to the ship boat, and immediately again they see like tarps and ties like like laid out over the over the side, towels everywhere, like just some things that they wouldn't do on their boat. So Jim leaves a note, leaves on a card, says, I'm a retired police officer, and I want to speak to the people who bought this boat. The owner, the previous owners, Tom and Jackie, are missing. We just want to see what you know. Now, let's meet the buyers. Skylar and Jennifer De Leon. I'm going to say it now that Skylar is a transgender female. So from here on out, I will be using she pronouns. Skylar grew up in a troubled home with her dad, who was quote, not the best dad. He was involved in drugs and manufacturing speed.

SPEAKER_01

And his friends.

SPEAKER_04

And his friends. Skylar's father also put her into acting because he wanted to use her to make money. Skylar wasn't good at acting, couldn't remember her lines. The biggest credit she has is an extra on the Power Rangers, which was supposed to be a speaking role, but she couldn't remember her lines, so she was just in the background.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, okay. Okay. I just I did recently discuss this case, but I thought that's a different case.

SPEAKER_04

Oh my gosh. We could do a whole episode on the cast of the Power Rangers.

SPEAKER_01

Jeez, get it together. Not just the guy's hairline. Not just the step up or step. Yes.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Yeah. Not just not just the hairline.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

There's a lot. There's a lot in that. Okay.

SPEAKER_03

So but like Skylar, an extra like fighting or in school?

SPEAKER_04

A kid in the background. Oh, okay. Okay. Got it. Yeah. As an adult, Skylar joined the Marines in the Marine Corps force recon, which is an elite part. Wow. As soon as she left the Marines, Shane is when she legally changes her name to Skylar DeLeon, stating the reasoning as she did not want to be associated with her father as he was a bad person and a criminal. Okay. Understood. Understandable. Shortly after, she meets Jennifer Henderson. Jennifer Henderson had the polar opposite growing up. Came from a good family, close family, religious family, never got into any trouble, no trouble in school, did great in school. They met online and dated for about a year and then got married in Catalina. Jennifer was a hairstylist. And at this point in 2004, they had $90,000 in debt. Oh. One child and one child on the way. Oh. And they were living in Jennifer's parents' garage in Long Beach. Was it a baby and a baby on the way? With a baby and a baby on the way. And $90,000 in debt.

unknown

Jeez.

SPEAKER_04

Makes me feel a little better about myself.

SPEAKER_01

I've not ever been in a crazy amount of debt because I just was, I've never done anything that would warrant me to have that much debt, but it I because it scared me too much. Yeah. So I just always I was like, pay for it. If I don't have the money, like my dad was always like, if you don't have the money to do it, you're not doing it. Don't don't create a bad situation. Well, now mine's mostly dental debt. So yeah, well, that's necessary, Debt. Okay.

SPEAKER_04

That's necessary. I will take it. So Jim receives a call from Jennifer. Uh, she lets Jim know that they purchased his boat fully with cash. They paid $435,000 plus an extra $15,000 for personal items that were left on the boat.

SPEAKER_01

So $450,000 and they were, didn't they put it up for $350,000? They purchased it for $300,000. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04

I'm assuming they listed it for more because of all the upgrades. Yeah, they did so many things. Yeah. Okay. Um, told Jim that the Hawks had informed them that they were planning on driving down to Mexico for a vacation before purchasing their house and going to be grandparents. So Jim calls their family friend Patricia, who is also in Arizona. Patricia was in charge of the Hawks' finances while they were out to sea or out of the country. If they had received this much cash, they're gonna deposit it. Absolutely. Well, there have been no activity on this account. So Jim goes and files a missing persons report. November 27th, a search warrant is obtained for the well-deserved. A target receipt is found. And on this receipt, they purchased trash bags, Tums, and bleach. Tums? Yeah. Someone had a nutset Tummy. I wonder why. Uh so Target pulled up the security and they're expecting to see Skylar or Jennifer. It's not, it's Jennifer's father. Steve. So police speak to Steve. He says that Jennifer sent him to Target to go pick up these items because they just bought this boat and they want to clean it. And so they say, okay, well, where are they now? Where's Skylar and where's Jennifer? Uh they're at their local church helping clean up. So they head to the church and they do find Jennifer. And she is very genuine that she has not spoken to the Hawks since the purchase and that she has also been trying to contact them because they left behind some clothes and like just different belongings they might want. November 30th, Skyler is in the Newport police station for an interview. Police asked him how he got all this money. They're $90,000 net and living in a garage. How do you have almost half a million dollars to spend on a boat? Skylar admits that she is on probation for armed burglary and is a felon. Says the money was drug money and admits to money laundering. Oh. Tells the detectives, says, I'm just gonna be up front with you, it's gonna come out anyway. Which they did already know about all of that, but Skylar can.

SPEAKER_01

But just not the hidden money.

SPEAKER_04

Right. Yeah. Skylar shows a notarized the notarized paperwork um signed by Jackie, Tom, Skylar, um, the notary, Kathleen Harris, and a witness, Alonzo McMachine, for the purchase of this boat. So the purchase took place in the parking lot at the 15th Street dock with a suitcase full of cash, just like you'd see in the movies. And then the talks got into their car and drove off.

SPEAKER_01

None of this is sketchy at all.

SPEAKER_04

Um, they also bring up to Skylar that there is video footage of her and Jennifer in Arizona trying to take money out of the Hawks bank account. How do they have well? Part of this paperwork is um power of attorney. The Hawks signed over their complete control of their assets to the Daily Ones. So not just the exchange of a boat.

SPEAKER_03

I mean, so obviously there's no way that they would do that.

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Well, they the signatures on it. But they went to Arizona from Newport, they went to Mexico for their vacation.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

No, no, no. I mean the Daily Ons. They went to Arizona. Is that what it says? Oh, yes, I'm sorry. Yes.

SPEAKER_03

For the bank, yes.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, we're looking for them too.

SPEAKER_04

On the video, you see Skylar and Jennifer walk into the bank. They have a durable power of attorney, all signatures, fingerprints, it's notarized. However, the bank manager takes one look at this form and says, I am absolutely not giving you control of their bank account. Right on. And then Patricia is called because she's the head of their like finances. So she there, the bank let her know that someone is trying to take money out. Skyler lets Tom know that she does have the dual citizenship, so she can go ahead and help him out if he signs over his assets to her. She can help him open a bank account in Mexico and get them settled.

SPEAKER_03

So that they can buy a house. Right.

SPEAKER_04

Okay, so everybody does that.

SPEAKER_01

It seems like super nice. Oh my gosh. And that's also so easy to do.

SPEAKER_03

And like, oh my gosh, I can't even believe how lucky we are that you're the people that we found to buy our boat and just so happen to be able to help us with the rest of our lives. Oh my gosh. Right.

SPEAKER_01

And then what? Like they sign it back over. Like that doesn't make any sense. I had so many steps in there. Yeah. Stop. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So I'm gonna mention this witness, Alonzo McCain again. They Skyler and Alonzo met in the Seal Beach jail. Skylar was locked up. Alonzo was a guard. Skylar was also, yeah. Skylar was also on a work release program. So she was allowed to leave during the day in cover. Okay. But while out, Skylar didn't have a job. Um they would just hang out and eat pizza, watch TV, like they became buddies. How long was Skylar in the Seal Beach jail? I don't know exactly how long, but it was one year prior.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I don't think that they do overnights anymore.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, they but they have it. I I mean I've done the tour, like uh they have cells there. Um and I know at one point they were able to keep you in jail for like a fair amount of time, but now they just transfer you to county if you're gonna be charged. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Okay. I didn't know that either.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So now they've hit a bit of a dead end. December 13th, Ryan goes on Good Morning America to share the story of his missing parents.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, I forgot about the kids just for a minute.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Um, he came with 15 to 20 photos to share and information on what car they drove. The next day, the police get a call from a woman in Mexico who sees this car right outside of her house at her neighbor's house.

SPEAKER_01

Jeez. I don't know. Good morning, America. Why don't you have that far of a reach? Yeah. Good for you.

SPEAKER_04

So December 16th, authorities head down to Ensenada, along with the Mexican authorities, to speak to the owner of the house that this car is at. They ask, is this your car? Did you buy this car? He says, No, it's not mine, it's my friend's. I said, Who is your friend? Skylar DeLeon. Stop. This was a friend of Skylar. Skylar was an avid surfer and made friends with this family because their son was also an avid surfer. So she would stay with them on surfing trips.

SPEAKER_03

So that's kind of like why she was in Mexico. Was mainly for surfing. Because we don't know any other reason why Skylar was in Mexico at to know these people or even to have a car there.

SPEAKER_01

Well, she's got dual citizenship.

SPEAKER_03

She's obviously there. But we believe that's actual that's that was the truth? Yes. So she does have dual citizenship. Okay, I thought that that was just a story. Actually, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, that's what was told.

SPEAKER_03

I mean, because I actually think they're probably lying. I assumed it was a lie. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, I didn't. I was like, well, because law enforcement can easily trace that. For sure. And there's all this record of Skylar because Skylar has a um a record and has a past. So that's easily something that can be looked into, especially when you're thinking of like flight risk and stuff like that, because they have dual citizenship. So that's why I thought it was the truth. That's a good point.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that's that's a hard one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

That's the that's the reasoning. That's the reasoning she gave for the signing over of the bank. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

That's kind of why I was, I just was assuming like, oh, that probably just wasn't the truth, but could be, I guess.

SPEAKER_01

And Skylar gets around. I mean, we're talking Newport to Arizona, Arizona to Mexico with this car. I mean, it could be true.

SPEAKER_04

Skylar was of Mexican descent. It is highly possible that she had a dual citizenship.

SPEAKER_03

Okay. Yeah. And obviously she does know these people.

SPEAKER_04

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Like, yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_04

So the next day on December 17th, Skylar is arrested and a search warrant is obtained for their garage slash apartment. Listen, there's nothing wrong with it. Um, immediately, Tom and Jackie's laptop is found along with their video camera. And in the video camera is a tape with footage of themselves out at sea.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Until it stops and it's footage of Skylar and Jennifer's Thanksgiving dinner.

SPEAKER_01

Wow. I mean, maybe they just threw that in there for that extra, that's that $15,000, right? Yeah, yeah. We're just gonna give you our keepsakes.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. They also find a business card for detective Joe Bahina, who is a detective signed to Interpool. Ah, okay. This is when they learned the name John Jarvey. John also met Skylar at the Seal Beach Jail in December 2003. Just making all kinds of friends. John was a petty counterfeiter. Skylar told John that she had come from a very rich family and had a lot of big investments, and there was a big investment lined up in Mexico, and that she could get him in on it as long as he gave her a ride down there and $50,000 cash.

SPEAKER_03

See more things, I don't believe.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Well, yeah, that's all criminals. Right. These are all criminals. You would think that they would hear that and go, sure, sure, sure.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Yeah. You're you're real rich, but you're spending the night in the Seal Beach jail. Sure. So since Skylar's on this work release program, Mexico.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03

But wouldn't she have to come back that night?

SPEAKER_01

You can do a turnaround trip during the day. Yeah, I guess. I mean, it's not four hour. No. Six? No. Oh, how far are they going to do that? In Sonata. Oh, okay. That I don't know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

How far is it from here to the border? Like four hours. Two hours. Two? Two hours, girl.

SPEAKER_03

A little over, I think. Three. From Seal Beach? Yeah, from Seal Beach to the border. Because you have to get all the way through deep, all the way deep through San Diego. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. I still, I'm like, I feel like the zoo is like a two-hour drive. Yeah, and it's not that far from the zoo.

SPEAKER_04

That's true, actually. It was pretty, pretty close. So they get to Insenata and Skylar takes John to a ravine and slits his throat. And then hustles right back to jail.

SPEAKER_03

And she has the $50,000.

SPEAKER_04

She has the $50,000.

SPEAKER_01

How do we know that? Okay. I'm sure they just know this story is just known now, but she's Louise. And then she just goes back to Seal Beach Jail. Okay.

SPEAKER_03

Why, yeah, I mean, why would she even have to wait to get all the way to Mexico? Like, why not just be like, oh, pull over here? I gotta, you know.

SPEAKER_04

Probably because it's over count over the border. So maybe like this is why Interpol was involved because he the Bahina was talking, was working with the Ensenada police and bringing them in to investigate here to investigate. Yeah. So he was the Bahina was the connection between that makes sense with the Interpol thing.

SPEAKER_03

Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. So now they're talking to Kathleen Harris, who was the notary. They brought her in five times. Her story never changed. She was at the um parking lot with them, saw the suitcase of cash, everyone signed, fingerprinted, and then the hawks took off.

SPEAKER_03

Well, not took off, but drove off. So she says that she saw them get in their car and leave after all the fingerprints and stuff were done on the paperwork, and that therefore now the boat belonged to Skylar and Jennifer. Correct.

SPEAKER_01

Gosh, birds of a feather, man.

SPEAKER_04

Well, Detective Keith Crawman was over this. He knew she was lying. He said, You know what? I'm gonna go talk to her and pounded her, pressed her. He said, I know you're lying. My four-year-old can tell better lies than you. So she leaves. The next day they get a call from her attorney and said, Kathleen would like to make a statement. Kathleen had never met the Hawks. She was brought these documents and given cash to backdate the date.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, she didn't want to say because she's a notary. Like that's that's a question. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. So now back to Alonzo. Yeah. That's an important stamp. So Alonzo has a change of heart, turned himself in. Oh, okay. So dropping like flies, huh? Yeah.

unknown

Good.

SPEAKER_04

So now we're gonna get into the story. This is all Alonzo's account.

SPEAKER_03

So this is what happened.

SPEAKER_04

This is what happened. Skylar convinces Alonzo that she is an international hit woman who will only kill bad people. Like Dexter? Like Dexter. And that the Hawks were bad people. And can you help kill them with me? And I will give you a million dollars. For real. For real. Yep, that's the story. Now, if you remember, this man is very fit. Tom is he's very active, he's lifting weights, he's he's muscular. They're into fitness, chilling. Yeah. So they need muscle. So they uh reach out to Skylar's friend who is coincidentally or ironically, that's not the correct word, ironically named John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Okay, so JFK is involved. JFK's involved. Um Kennedy was a founding member of a notorious Long Beach gang and a very large man. So when you just like when you buy a car, when you purchase a boat, you're gonna take it on a on a test ride. Yeah. So instead of Skylar and Jennifer, it's gonna be Skylar, Alonzo, and John.

SPEAKER_03

So Jennifer was not there. Jennifer was not there. Okay.

SPEAKER_04

Skylar told the Hawks that John was her accountant. John, okay. Giant John. Who I'm assuming is not wearing a suit, was her accountant. So the five people board the ship and take a test ride towards Catalina.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

After some time, John becomes seasick. So he heads below deck.

SPEAKER_02

JFK.

SPEAKER_04

JFK is seasick and heads below deck. He's down there for a little bit and Tom gets a little worried. So Tom heads down to check on him. And Skylar follows. Then Jackie hears commotion.

SPEAKER_01

Of course.

SPEAKER_04

And Alonzo knows that the plan is in motion. He overpowers Jackie, handcuffs her. Skylar and John overpower Tom, handcuff him. And then now they are both. Tom is brought up, they are tied together to the bed. Forms are brought out. Jackie's pleading, saying, like, we just want to be with our grandson. Like, please, like, we just, we're good people. We just want to be with our grandson. So when they're signing the forms, Jackie knows what's gonna happen. She knows, she knows this is it. So when she signs her name, she doesn't put an S at the end. She just signs a Jackie Hawk.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

The S is added later, and you can tell it's added later, which is what the bank manager noticed. Yeah. Smart to think of that. Like in that situation, I used to tell Amber that like if I were ever had to sign a ransom note or like write a ransom note or like something. Like you're the one that has to sign it, I would like spell something incorrectly, absolutely or something that they would know. Like this, she didn't write this, right?

SPEAKER_01

Like in Heather's where she wrote her suicide note. Yeah. And she got that word wrong on last week's vocabulary.

SPEAKER_04

Exactly, exactly. All right. So then they're brought up to deck. Skylar sets the GPS to the deepest part of the ocean, which is 3,500 feet, locates an anchor, and handcuffs them to the anchor. Tom kicks Skylar so hard that she almost fell overboard.

SPEAKER_01

Oh no.

SPEAKER_04

And then Skylar throws the anchor overboard. Yeah. I cannot imagine. I don't want to imagine.

SPEAKER_03

No.

SPEAKER_04

I am imagining.

SPEAKER_03

I'm not even drinking this ocean drink anymore. Like that's I don't even want anything to do with it.

SPEAKER_01

Look, I only go into the ocean on top of a longboard because it's floating. But if there's anything rough, I'm not hanging out in the water. I don't want to. I haven't gone surfing in three years now because of all the the shark talks. Yeah, I'm good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So I don't go into the ocean ever.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Meanwhile, I let my daughter just like that. I used to go all the way out there when I was a kid. I thought I was invincible. Zoe swims in the open ocean. She wants to go out there. Oh my god. And I'm I used to love it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, but I mean she's like a junior lifeguard.

SPEAKER_01

But even when she wasn't junior guard, she was like, Mom, I'm just gonna go out, come out there with me. I was like, I can't. And I'm having a panic attack, so why don't you just come back closer? Yeah. There's a killer whale out there. There's there's something out there that's gonna be.

SPEAKER_03

We don't even know. Like, we don't even know what's like actually like we don't know everything.

SPEAKER_01

There's so many, there's so many. There's aliens. There's aliens, that's where they live.

SPEAKER_03

Get it together. Like there's things that I don't want to know about, and that maybe there's people that do know about it, but they're not telling us about it.

SPEAKER_01

No, it hasn't been explored. They explore something like a small percentage that is actually being explored.

SPEAKER_03

That's why I'm like, I'm you stay there, I'm gonna stay here. This is where we belong.

SPEAKER_01

It's really fun to go surf.

SPEAKER_03

But I will drink this actually. I have never attempted to surf.

SPEAKER_01

It's so much fun. It's so much fun. I'm just not athletic. Could you imagine me on a surfboard? Can you do yoga? Yeah. Then you'll be good at surfing. I'm just saying, that's it's literally. Yes, it is. It is.

SPEAKER_04

Chodaranga.

SPEAKER_03

No.

SPEAKER_04

April 6, 2005. Jennifer is offered immunity if she tells them what happened, everything she knows, and if she testifies against Skylar.

SPEAKER_03

Okay, but Jennifer wasn't there. Right. So we still know though that she was like in on it. We will know. Okay.

SPEAKER_04

So she turned it down. Two days later, she's arrested. Good. Yeah. So November 2006, Jennifer's trial starts. So a full year later. Yes. Like two years after the murder. Yeah. Yeah. Jennifer's attorney said Jennifer had no idea until long after the murder, and that she didn't come forward because she was scared of her spouse.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

Of what she would do.

SPEAKER_01

But she drove all the way to um Arizona to go and try to take that money.

SPEAKER_04

Also, Alonzo let them know that Skylar had called Jennifer before they got on the ship while they were on the ship and then after the murder. Like updating? Yes. And what to do. Jennifer was very in on this. She may not have been there physically, but she was very much there.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So she knew. She was accessory. She was an accessor.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. After four hours of deliberation, Jennifer was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to two life terms. Uh two life sentences without the possibility of parole. Good.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Like Alonzo was selling all the stuff.

SPEAKER_03

But he got immunity.

SPEAKER_04

Um Alonzo did not get immunity.

SPEAKER_03

Who got immunity?

SPEAKER_04

Um they offered Jennifer immunity. But she turned it down. Okay, that's right. Yeah. Um Alonso.

SPEAKER_01

But Alonzo came forward. Correct. Yeah, he's the one that came forward. That's why it was like, what did he get offered? Like, what was it that he was bartering with the to the point where he should have been offered something. Something similar to what Jennifer was being offered because he's she knows.

SPEAKER_04

And I don't know.

SPEAKER_01

And also, why wouldn't you take that? You have children. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

In one heart. She's stupid. And evil. Alonzo pled guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

Kidnapping and robbery. And in June 2009, he was sentenced to 20 years and four months and was paroled in 2021.

unknown

Oh.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

So Alonzo's out.

SPEAKER_03

He made parole.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Yeah, so I mean, that's the 20 years. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

In February 2009, JFK was found guilty of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to death. And he is currently serving in San Quinn.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

Oh. With Oliver. With everyone else. Yeah, with everyone else. Yeah. Skylar was Skyler's um trial included the Hawks and Jarby. They lumped them together and one. Okay. Okay. While awaiting trial, Skyler was charged with soliciting another inmate to murder her father and cousin. Like, give it a rest. Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Because that inmate was like getting out.

SPEAKER_04

Yes. And also her father and cousin were key witnesses in both murder cases.

SPEAKER_01

She's just hanging out with her father and her cousin, even though they did all that terrible stuff to her.

SPEAKER_03

Well, remember, Steve was the one that they found that was there when they were looking for Skylar. That's Jennifer's dad. That's Jennifer. That's Jennifer's dad.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's why it was like, how did she rope her good dad into that? But her dad was just doing her a favor and she was at church.

SPEAKER_03

Her dad really had no idea. Jennifer's dad had absolutely no idea. Yeah. And then yeah, like, I mean, Skylar's dad is the one who was abusive.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_03

So she wants him dead, I would assume. Right. For a lot of reasons. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I mean, fair but how and how were they with? So the cousin was actually um knew was a key witness in the Jarby case. Oh, okay. And I'm assuming knew very much about what was going on with the Hawks because they were both key witnesses. So, like, as in she wanted them dead so that they could not testify against her in these cases. Okay. I mean, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_02

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_04

Skylar's attorney conceded that she was responsible for all three murders and just asked not to pass down the death sentence. You want to just live in prison? April 2009, Skylar was sentenced to death.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

Okay. Behind bars, Skylar begins taking hormones. And it was confirmed in April 2023 that she had undergone gender-affirming surgery. In prison? In prison. Is that gonna be like is that is that good?

SPEAKER_03

Like, are they doing a good job? No.

SPEAKER_04

I honestly, like, when it comes to the to being in jail, I don't really know if that's a good idea.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. I just feel like I can't imagine getting any kind of surgery in jail. I feel like when people get sick in jail, they died.

SPEAKER_04

When she was convicted, she was in the in the men's prison.

SPEAKER_01

Um, because she still had parts because her and her wife were still having babies.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Oh, yeah, that's true. That I didn't think of that. Um, yeah, that I feel like that would be like a sketchy place to go about that.

SPEAKER_04

Well, she is currently in the psychiatric hospital for her protection while she is awaiting transfer to a woman's prison.

SPEAKER_01

Because they're because they can't keep her with the men. Yeah, that's right. And they're also still not holding, upholding transferring to women's prisons. Right. No, I mean, as far as I remember, that was on some sort of ballot. Yeah. Not that long ago.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I do remember that.

unknown

Wow.

SPEAKER_04

So that's a it's a tricky one.

SPEAKER_03

Mm-hmm. Yeah. But she's still technically on death row.

SPEAKER_04

Correct. Okay. But as we've said in every other episode we've had, there's a monitorium on the death sentence. So everyone on death row is not going to die until it's lifted. Right. If it's lifted.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Um, death row. Go tire to a fucking banker in the middle of the ocean. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Awful. That's yeah. No fun facts today because there's nothing fun in this case. Yeah. Although I do have a mini fun fact. It happens to be World Ocean Day today. Oh.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Okay. Okay. Saw that this morning.

SPEAKER_03

So I'm not a fan of that. But keep them clean. Keep the oceans clean.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, it is a fun fact. Yes, they are important.

SPEAKER_01

They are important. You know that the vast majority of the oxygen in the world comes from algae, not from trees. I did not know that. Yes. There's more oxygen generated by our algae in the oceans, and that's why we need to keep our oceans clean.

SPEAKER_03

You heard it here first, folks. I hope you're not hearing it first.

SPEAKER_01

But you guys are hearing it first, I guess. But it's true. Yeah. That's why it's such a big deal to keep our oceans. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03

For the fourth time.

SPEAKER_01

I hate it. There are oceans. Look at one of the stay the turtles. Yes. Well. Just stay in there. Well, the turtles can come up. Just for just for babies. Babies go. Yeah, no. Yeah. Just for the little babies.

SPEAKER_03

Stay in there. Stay in there.

SPEAKER_01

Well, you know, that's why we have spiders because they crawled out of the ocean.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, don't say that.

SPEAKER_01

Is that why I don't like crabs? Probably.

SPEAKER_03

I will do things. Just stay in there.

SPEAKER_01

Arachnids are that's why like crabs are a part of an arachnid family. Yeah. I did a whole. I did a whole.

SPEAKER_02

They're delicious.

SPEAKER_04

They're delicious. They're portable. But they're gross, and I don't like walking past them when I take Raven to the aquarium. I'll look glad. Because then they're like this on the thing. Like it's like trying to get at me. And they're the big ones, you know what I mean? I forgot what they're called. King crabs? No, there's another one. I don't remember what it's called, but it's a giant. Yeah, I would eat it. It's a giant, it's a giant crab. It's a giant one. I'll eat it, but I don't want to look at it.

SPEAKER_01

All day. But yeah. That's where they came. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, so. Bad people all around. Right.

SPEAKER_01

Interesting.

SPEAKER_04

Interesting. An R.I.P.

SPEAKER_01

to the Hawks.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. R.I.P.

SPEAKER_01

of the Hawks.

SPEAKER_03

They just seem like such good people. Yeah. To the Hawks. Such a soft.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Horrible.

SPEAKER_03

All they wanted to do was just be with their guy. Be rid of this and go be, you know, family in it's like. They had the best intention.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Alright, are you ready to close the tab on tonight's keys? Yep. Yes, ma'am. Till next time. Don't donate these big.