00:00:08
[Music] All of our family memories are pretty much on the water. How's it going, Ryan?
00:00:16
You having any fun? Yeah, great time. The happier times were definitely when a boat was involved.
00:00:24
This is Captain Tom Hawk. Tom Hawk was a was a good guy. He surfed. He scuba drove. He was kind of a guy's guy. When
00:00:34
my father would introduce my brother and I, it would be, "This isn't my son. This
00:00:38
is my pride and joy." He always had that great laugh. He loved to joke around. It took him
00:00:44
like 45 minutes for 57 years old, but he was still he was still like 12 at heart. I'm going to
00:00:52
go play some more. Jackie. Hello. Hi, honey. I'm so glad to be home. I couldn't picture with my
00:01:03
father, anyone else, or Jackie with anyone else. Jackie's coming today. Got the boat all cleaned up. They're good,
00:01:10
loyal friends, and they loved each other. You could look up Love in the Dictionary and you'd see these two
00:01:15
people there. Tom Hawk, his dream was always to sail off into the sunset. And he bought
00:01:23
this boat. The welldeserved. [Music] It was welld deserved. They worked very hard for that. This is the beach that we
00:01:31
collect our puka shells on. Tom and Jackie had so much fun on the boat. I'm jealous of the what they were able to do
00:01:37
with that thing. They got to swim with dolphins, whales. I almost got you. Pull into Ports of
00:01:44
Call, go to little bars where mariachi bands are playing. They truly have the dream
00:01:50
life. A massive search is underway for an Arizona couple last seen here in Newport Beach. It started out as a
00:01:55
missing person's case. This needed to be solved. My father's friend called me and
00:02:00
he's like, "Your dad's phone went to voicemail. It's really strange." My dad's the kind of guy you can set a
00:02:04
watch by. I called my brother and I'm like, "What do you think's going on, Matt?" I
00:02:11
was trying to think of what had happened and my mind bounced back to the Skyler guy.
00:02:18
Calling Skyler Deion a sociopath is probably an insult to sociopaths. We wanted that all American little thing,
00:02:25
you know, the house and all that kind of stuff. Jennifer Deleó is manipulative. She's bossy. The the two of them meeting
00:02:34
were like fire meeting gasoline. It's almost hard to tell the truth sometimes. After I look back and what he was able
00:02:42
to do, he scares the hell out of me. I still wake up. I have nightmares. And you didn't think anything like this
00:02:47
could ever happen to him. You can't make a Hollywood movie this horrific. Dark Voyage. Tonight's 48 hours mystery.
00:03:12
[Music] It sits. Cold as a tombstone, like bleached bones giving silent testimony to a crime that defies
00:03:52
humanity. This is probably the 30th time I've been on the vessel and and I don't like it.
00:04:03
Newport Beach detective Dave Mington doesn't rattle easily. I get the heebie-jebies on this boat. I just I
00:04:09
don't feel comfortable on it. You start to think about imagine only try to imagine what they experience and
00:04:18
it's too horrific. It is the boat's underway. It's night time. It's cold. They don't know what's
00:04:25
happening. The only thing that outweighs the horror of what happened that night is the power
00:04:43
of Tom and Jackie Hawk's [Music] love. It is a fairy tale romance that started hundreds of miles away from any
00:04:55
ocean in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona, where Tom was raising two sons alone. He was a man's man. He was uh,
00:05:06
you know, very masculine, very outdoors. Tom's boys, Ryan and Matt. Big on the chores. We did a lot of chores. And he
00:05:13
just wanted us to appreciate what we had in life. Sons from a first marriage that ended in
00:05:21
an amicable divorce. He would uh take us to Catalina Island, do a lot of hiking. Some of my
00:05:29
better times with him were on the water. Was it a good life? Oh, it's absolute great life. It was a life where
00:05:40
toughness was taught early on. You know, stay strong. I remember if I wrecked or
00:05:45
cried as a little kid, he'd be like, "Tough, boy. Toughen up. Come on. Come on. Above all else, this man played by
00:05:51
the rules. I think Tom really enjoyed working with people." Tom worked with the probation office of Yavapai
00:05:59
County, helping those in trouble find a second chance. Tom was a kind of probation officer take a real interest
00:06:06
in the problems that his probationers were having. John Ryder, Brian Gray, and Bill Pyo were Tom's co-workers and knew
00:06:16
what kind of a man he was. Tom was a was a quality guy. I believe Tom's family life, like most of us, was real
00:06:23
important to him. But something major was missing. Then the tough single father had his heart
00:06:31
melted by one Jackie [Music] O'Neal. She met Tom at a chili cookoff. Um I believe it was in July of 86.
00:06:42
Patricia Shoots and Jackie O'Neal were best friends. He would walk on water for her and she
00:06:49
would do the same for him. It was clear where things were heading. He got like down on his hands and knees and he asked
00:06:58
her to marry him. She was very excited and she was very happy. And soon so were Ryan and Matt
00:07:06
because there was a downside to life alone with father. And I remember he calls it his famous goolog and he would
00:07:14
make a pot of it for like a week and uh every time we'd come over dinner be like
00:07:20
h really this again. Thankfully, things changed once Tom and Jackie wed. Oh, dinner's got a lot better.
00:07:30
Both Matt and Ryan were still in elementary school. Did you think of Jackie as your mom also? Oh, absolutely.
00:07:36
We called her mom uh growing up. She was the best mother any boys could ever have.
00:07:44
Jackie, she's a real trooper. Most of the time when they do something, it's it's my father's idea. And Jackie never
00:07:52
complains and she just goes with it. So it came as no surprise when Tom sold their house and Jackie said yes to a
00:08:00
dream her husband had been nurturing for years. Tom's goals in life was to retire and
00:08:07
and live on the sea and own a yacht. He said life's too short and it's my life and uh and this is our time and I feel
00:08:16
if I hesitate it'll just go by and I'll miss it. It was here in Newport Beach, California, that Tom and Jackie Hawks
00:08:24
came to find paradise. Their dream was rooted in two simple things, being together and being on a boat. Few people
00:08:32
had lived better lives, so it seemed almost like fate when the couple bought a 55- ft yacht that was already named
00:08:40
the welldeserved. [Music] This is Captain Tom Hawk and welldeserved. For Tom and Jackie, a
00:08:52
dream had come true. [Music] Life was an endless cruise. We're heading out for these islands over here.
00:09:01
Hi. Filled with good times and best friends. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. Happy Thanksgiving.
00:09:09
Did you have a chance to spend time with him on the boat? Yes. It was the most awesome journey in my life.
00:09:20
[Music] Here goes Tom trying to swim with us. From Catalina Island to Mexico's Sea of
00:09:29
Cortez, this is what cruising is all about. Oh yeah. I'd be sitting at work and I'd be
00:09:36
getting an email like, "The water's 80°, the surf's pumping, and uh mom's making
00:09:42
me go catch dinner." And I'm like, "Life's tough. And there's the sun going down.
00:09:50
It's hard to explain what the feeling is out here. Being on water for them was a
00:09:56
solitude. It was seeing the curve of the earth and seeing the sunset fall right behind it every
00:10:03
night. While the Hawks were living life on the sea, something wonderful was happening in the mountains of Prescott,
00:10:11
Arizona. something that would alter their lives forever. Say hi, Grandma. Matt and his wife
00:10:20
Nicole welcomed baby Jace. Oh, they were just very excited. Jackie was already buying baby
00:10:28
clothes. Oh, he is looking at you, Grandpa. I've never seen such a big nose. After 3 years at sea, Tom and Jackie
00:10:37
decided being grandparents was worth more than all the sunsets across the Pacific. They wanted to come back and be
00:10:44
part of our lives cuz they believed very strongly in family. They put a small ad in a boating
00:10:51
magazine. The welldeserved was on the market. All they needed now was an honest buyer.
00:10:59
Tom and Jackie Hawks put their boat up for sale and I went to buy it. Skyler Deleó file under loser.
00:11:23
Growing up, I've never really felt like loved. If the Hawks are all about family, Skyler, the man who answered the
00:11:32
ad for the well-deserved, is all about the lack of it. Was it a happy childhood? No, my childhood, I hated
00:11:39
him. I guess the the environment, my dad. Tell me a little bit about your dad. I hated him.
00:11:48
He was into manufacturing drugs and I guess distributing and selling them. Big- time drug dealer, I would say. So
00:11:57
despite those odds, Skyler did try to make something of himself as an actor. He even made it on to a TV show, The
00:12:08
Power Rangers. He would tell people he was a major member of the show's cast. And that was a lie. Yes. In fact, you
00:12:15
were just an extra on the show. It was a guest something. How many times? Uh, three times.
00:12:23
Then eager to get away from an abusive home, Skyler joined the Marines. I ended up going to UA. Were you awol? Yes, I
00:12:31
was. Skyler was fast drifting nowhere. I don't think I had a life plan. And then Skyler Deleó met a small town
00:12:43
girl with big ideas. How did you guys meet? From a random email. Jennifer Henderson grew up in
00:12:52
Long Beach, California in a devoutly religious home. She'd finished high school and ended up working in a hair
00:12:59
salon. After they chatted for a few weeks online, she and Skyler agreed to meet at the mall. She wasn't really
00:13:06
doing a whole lot with her life until she met Skyler. Orange County prosecutor Matt Murphy now knows everything about
00:13:14
these two aimless young adults and their twisted relationship. He was basically a
00:13:21
manipulator and somebody who's a complete con man and she was a spoiled brat basically. So the two of them
00:13:26
getting together um was the perfect combination. I think she's definitely more dominant.
00:13:34
They'd marry and soon Haley was born. Pressure mounted for Skyler to support his new family and prove his worth to
00:13:43
Jennifer. I definitely loved her. I mean, to the point there's I mean, nothing I wouldn't do
00:13:50
for her. But Skyler couldn't hold a job. Couldn't find a way to move his young family out of his in-laws garage
00:13:59
apartment. He grew desperate. Other than going awall with the military, had you ever committed a crime before all of
00:14:05
this started to happen? Not until I met Jyn. Skyler's new ambition led him to a new line of work.
00:14:14
Burglary. But he was arrested and ended up here, California's Seal Beach City Jail, leaving Jennifer to care for their
00:14:22
baby. There were $87,000 in debt. Skylar had no job. She was pregnant again. Was she happy? No.
00:14:33
Tired of the bills? Tired of the bills. tired of living at her parents. Living at the parents. She's like, you know,
00:14:39
well, we got to do something. It was that pressure that led Skyler to Tom and Jackie
00:14:48
Hawks where he used the one deadly skill he really had. How do you rate Skyler as a con artist
00:14:56
as far as his effect on on other people? I've never seen anything like Skyler. [Music]
00:15:15
This is all that is left of Tom and Jackie's dream. The welldeserved is now in dry dock in a Southern California
00:15:22
lot. Even those who chase horror for a living are haunted by the depravity of what happened here.
00:15:32
It drives me nuts. It hits me so angry and you start thinking about it. It's one of those things you need to get
00:15:38
out of your mind cuz it's that terrible. It all began with that simple ad in a boating magazine. The ad that Tom had
00:15:47
placed so he and Jackie could spend more time with their family. I called and I talked to him. Were you planning on
00:15:54
buying the boat? Well, we didn't really have the money. So then what was your thought?
00:16:01
I guess our our thought at that point was to I guess rip rip them off. But Skyler knew he would need help.
00:16:12
That's when he enlisted this man, Alonso Machain, a young prison guard he had met
00:16:17
when locked up on that burglary charge. Alonzo is unsophisticated. He hasn't been a lot of places. He hasn't done a
00:16:25
lot of things. So he was ripe, I think, for Skyler to enlist as a Confederate in
00:16:29
this whole thing. On November 6th, 2004, Skyler and Alonzo went down to the waterfront to meet Tom
00:16:38
and Jackie. Tom, smart and savvy, didn't like what he saw. Thomas Hawks had been
00:16:44
a probation officer for 20 years, and Thomas Hawk was kind of leery. Tom Hawks was asking
00:16:51
$435,000 for the welldeserved. Skyler just didn't look like the kind of guy with that kind of cash. When Jackie
00:17:00
started proudly boasting about her new grandchild, say hi, Grandma. Skyler saw his opening. There's grandpa family
00:17:08
holding his grand. The first thing Skylar did when they got off the boat is he picked up his phone and he called
00:17:14
Jennifer up in Long Beach and he said, "You got to come down here and bring Haley and put these people at ease."
00:17:22
So Jennifer came down that same day and used the kids, right? I can't think of anything more horrific
00:17:29
than a mother using her child. It's it's I don't know. But the Hawks fell for it,
00:17:41
convinced they had a real buyer. They couldn't imagine the trap that was being set.
00:17:48
No one could. The disgraced Marine sized up the lifelong public servant. Physically. Physically. Mentally. Yes.
00:17:57
To see if you could overtake them. Yes. And what did you think when you saw Tom?
00:18:02
That he's pretty big. The gang of two needed a tough guy. Skyler had recruited a gang member from
00:18:10
Long Beach named John Fitzro Kennedy. He's with a gang called Insane Crips. It gives a sick new meaning to ironic.
00:18:18
Arrested more than 20 times, John Fitzgerald Kennedy joined the plot. Skyler set a date to test drive
00:18:27
the boat while Jennifer sat home, her child having served her purpose. She's up to her eyeballs in the whole thing.
00:18:38
It was November 15th. Alonzo came along and JFK even wore a suit. Skyler told Tom and Jackie Kennedy
00:18:50
was his [Music] accountant. The welldeserved headed out to sea. You were able to fool him?
00:19:02
I think so. You're that good of a liar? I I hate to say yeah, but I think so. [Music]
00:19:24
Good and evil were about to intersect in the waters off Newport Beach. Tom and Jackie Hawks guided the
00:19:33
well-deserved from the shelter of the harbor. But as light danced across the waves,
00:19:40
darkness was set to descend. Brought on by the very passengers they had invited on board. Alonso Machain, John Kennedy,
00:19:50
and their hapless leader, Skyler Deleó. I don't think anything was even 100% serious until it was too late. And when
00:20:02
was that? On the boat. That is one of Skyler's lies. The truth is everything was deadly
00:20:11
serious and meticulously plotted weeks before when Skyler and Jennifer used their very own baby to con Tom Hawks
00:20:20
into believing they were honest buyers. He's capable of making decisions, planning things out over a period of
00:20:27
time. Detective Sergeant Dave Bington and Sergeant Evan Sailor would come to know everything about Skyler's plans,
00:20:36
right down to the tasers and handcuffs he brought on board. It gives a whole new meaning to the concept of
00:20:42
premeditated. Does it not? Beyond anything I could imagine. That is because stealing the 55- ft yacht was
00:20:51
only the start of the plan. They they didn't want to get a job. They wanted to take other people's money.
00:20:57
Because of the work led by Bington and Sailor, the welldeserved would become evidence. Incredible detective work by
00:21:06
the two cops would eventually reveal every horrifying moment of that day at sea. This was really their home. Yes, it
00:21:15
was. They lived here. This is pretty much as if they left for a short trip and then came back. Everything is intact
00:21:20
the way it was when they lived on it. This is the main stateateroom where the bed and this where Thomas and Jackie
00:21:26
slept. The boat was now anchored well outside Newport Beach Harbor. Skyler Deleó went
00:21:37
below. Moments later, John Kennedy, the hulking gangbanger who was pretending to
00:21:43
be Skyler's accountant, also came down, feigning seasickness. Eventually, Thomas Hawk goes down to
00:21:51
investigate because they're not returning. Jackie remained on deck with the jittery Alonso Machain. Jackie first
00:21:58
hears a commotion down in the state room. And at this point, she sees Thomas Hawk uh being choked by John Fil Kennedy
00:22:06
and being struck by Skyler Deleó. And then what does Alonzo do to her up here? Alonzo now knows that he has to take do
00:22:12
his part and he starts to overpower uh Jackie first by applying the taser. He actually overpowers this poor woman,
00:22:18
puts handcuffs on her. Skyler and John Fiser Kennedy end up overpowering Thomas Hawks. They handcuff him and eventually
00:22:25
both Jackie Hawks is brought downstairs with Thomas Hawks and they're laid on their bedroom bound. Now Tom and Jackie
00:22:32
Hawks would be gagged. Skyler tells the monster to go get some duct tape. Skyler
00:22:37
instructs him to duct tape over their mouth and their eyes, and he proceeds to do so. Tom and Jackie huddled together
00:22:44
on their bed. These are the details their sons Ryan and Matt would come to know. Agonizing flashbacks that will
00:22:53
never fade. She couldn't stop crying. She was yelling at Skyler saying, "You this, you that. You took
00:23:02
your baby daughter and your and your wife on your on her boat. How could you?" She was begging for her life,
00:23:08
wanting to see her grandchild again. I mean, she was only 47 years old. And um I think the only thing my father
00:23:15
could move was his hands and he just calmly stroked Jackie's hands to give her some level of comfort. That's the
00:23:22
last moment they That's the last gentle moment they had between the two of them.
00:23:26
And I never thought of that. You're absolutely right. That is and everything else is just pure horror.
00:23:31
Finally, the depth of the depravity of Skyler's plan was about to be revealed. He produced this set of phony documents
00:23:40
and handed the Hawks a pen. What was the paperwork that you wanted them to sign?
00:23:47
It was the documentation of the vessel and the power of attorney. Power of attorney for all of their bank accounts.
00:23:57
Yes. It's all laid out here. Papers are laid out. Um they buck with them an ink pad. Jackie's obviously still crying.
00:24:03
She can't help herself and it's understandable. They remove uh one handcuff and they remove a little bit of
00:24:09
the tape so that she can see out, instruct her to sign her name, roll her fingerprints. They then Skyler starts
00:24:14
asking her um various questions about her uh her accounts, account numbers, where the banks are.
00:24:21
Now it was Tom's turn to sign away the honest life he had worked so hard for to a man who had hardly worked an honest
00:24:28
day in his life. if there was a chance of living, I think he was willing to just stay calm and uh follow their
00:24:39
commands. And he proceeds to sign all the paperwork, roll his fingerprints, and gives him the account information
00:24:44
that he's requesting. The phony papers signed the welldeserved powered further out to sea. Scatter came
00:24:54
up and punched in coordinates which sent him out to Santa Catalina and he knew exactly where he was going. Absolutely.
00:25:00
Out towards the deep waters off Catalina Island where Tom and Jackie had so many
00:25:05
good times. Hi, Jackie. And were only days before they had enjoyed a final cruise with friends on the welldeserved.
00:25:14
And these people were living a dream and Skyler just took it. Handcuffed, gagged, and now tied to one
00:25:22
another with nautical ropes. Tom and Jackie were dragged up on deck. That is when they heard the sound. He hears that
00:25:32
chain coming. There's no doubt because when Skyler gets behind him and starts to and actually hooks the anchor to the
00:25:38
rope. So now this anchor's now attached to these two poor people. This big heavy
00:25:42
anchor. It's massive. Was the anchor used? Yeah, it was used. He heard that sound a hundred times and he's like,
00:25:50
"Son of a they're not going to let us go." He knew his destiny and I believe that's why he fought back one
00:25:56
last time. and he basically does a reverse mule kick with his leg and kicks Skyler. He kicks him so severely that
00:26:02
Skyler is lifted up off of his feet and lands on his backside. John Fitzgerald Kennedy is where you're at. Uh he sees
00:26:08
this and JFK is a big man and he let levels him, hits him, it knocks Thomas Hawks out cuz the punch is so severe and
00:26:16
so violent. With the anchor chain tied around the couple, Skyler threw the anchor overboard. The chain fed out into
00:26:26
the sea, yanking Tom and Jackie into the icy waters. So that's where they are right now.
00:26:32
They're 3600 ft below the cold Pacific Ocean tied to an anchor. Have you cried? Absolutely. By myself? Just alone? Yes.
00:26:42
But I I don't cry in front of people. The deed now done. The welldeserved headed back to Newport Beach. Skyler
00:26:51
Delejon called his wife Jennifer on his cell phone. You called her after they were dead. Yes. Do you remember what she
00:27:00
said? I remember her asking if I was sure. And what did you tell her? I was like, I'm
00:27:07
sure. Skyler had a motto. Can you tell me what that was? No body, no crime. No body, no
00:27:16
crime. And he thought he was going to get away with it because there were no bodies.
00:27:20
Yes. Hi everybody. Hi Jackie. I'm so glad you could join us on our last voyage on
00:27:42
welldeserved. Friends and family believed Tom and Jackie had just sold the well-deserved
00:27:49
and were headed home to Prescott to see their new grandson. Matt and Ryan couldn't wait. I called my dad's first,
00:27:56
went straight to voicemail. Then I called Jackie and it went straight to voicemail and he never shut off their
00:28:00
phone. What was going through your head at that point? I was thinking I'm like maybe they take a last minute cruise and
00:28:06
um I talked to my uncle Jim um which is he's a retired chief police for Carl'sb.
00:28:14
Jim Hawks is Tom's big brother. They had spoken just a few days earlier about Skyler and Jennifer buying the boat. It
00:28:21
It was very brief, you know, just, hey, ugly. It was We called each other that uh and uh if you need help when you get
00:28:29
ready to move, just let us know. But it had been about a week since that final conversation. Jim decided to take a look
00:28:39
at his brother's boat, which was tied up back in Newport Beach. We circled uh the
00:28:44
boat on its mooring and noticed things out of out of place. Then Jim and a friend boarded the
00:28:52
welldeserved. I said, "Just be careful. Don't touch any, you know, smooth surface that let's
00:28:59
treat this like it could be a crime scene." And uh I called my brother and uh he
00:29:08
finally said it out loud. I'm like, "What do you think's going on, Matt?" He's like, "They're dead. I think
00:29:14
they're dead." 11 days after Tom and Jackie last port, Jim Hawks filed a missing person's
00:29:23
report. That's when Bington and Sailor drew the case of a lifetime. At what point then did you first hear the names
00:29:31
Skyler and Jennifer Deleó? Actually, the Deleó were both listed in the initial missing person report.
00:29:38
Within days, Skyler agreed to be interviewed. Were you looking to buy a boat? I'm pretty much always looking
00:29:45
yesterday. Cool, calm, and collected. The con man spun his tail. Is exactly, you know, what I want. This is perfect.
00:29:54
Sure. Skyler told the cops, he just bought the welldeserved. We spent like 485 on it. But he'd never taken it out
00:30:02
of the harbor. Skyler said he had paid Tom Hawks in cash and that Tom and Jackie had said
00:30:10
something about heading down to Mexico. As far as we know, he's in San Carlos right now.
00:30:18
When asked where he got over $400,000 in cash, Skyler came up with a doozy, saying the cash was profit from a drug
00:30:27
deal. $60,000 here or $90,000 there. Right. talking about this money that he had to launder. He was very at ease
00:30:34
telling us this stuff. It threw detectives off. Skyler confessing to a crime. Plus, he had all the paperwork to
00:30:42
prove the boat was legally his. All those documents he had forced Tom and Jackie to sign. Skyler, you got nothing
00:30:50
to do with his disappearance, right? No. And your wife doesn't either. No. Police
00:30:54
also spoke to Jennifer and for the most part, the cops bought the couple's story. Thanks very much. just like the
00:31:01
Hawks had. I I was convinced that they were telling the truth, but their story began to fall
00:31:08
apart when the Daily Owns went to Tom and Jackie's bank with that phony power of attorney document. They tried to make
00:31:16
a withdrawal. We've got surveillance videos of her smiling ear to ear, you know, trying to
00:31:23
basically steal these people's money. And then police got a tip from Skyler's parole officer, learning he had asked
00:31:31
permission to leave the country. Our concern was that he's now a flight risk. That's when Skyler Deleó was arrested,
00:31:39
but not for murder. He just kept on asking me, "What am I being charged with?" Once I told him it was
00:31:43
moneyaundering, I could see that kind of like that sigh of relief. That feeling wouldn't last long.
00:31:49
As police moved in, searching the cramped garage apartment Skyler and Jennifer had so desperately wanted to
00:31:56
leave behind. And we found the their video camera, the Hawk's video camera. Yes. Uh we found Jackie's laptop
00:32:03
computer and then the uh batteries to Thomas and Jackie Sprint Nextell phones. On December 16th, we get a call
00:32:11
from San Miguel Village, Mexico, saying that the Hawk's vehicle is there. And then we come to find out the vehicle
00:32:18
had been dropped off by Skyler about a week earlier. Follow him in another car with his wife Jennifer.
00:32:25
It was time to talk with the district attorney. We hit it out of the ballpark getting Matt Murphy as our DA.
00:32:32
Matt Murphy with his love of surfing and his passion for justice quickly grasped the enormity of what had
00:32:42
happened. Thomas and Jackie Hawks were not only really good people, they were totally innocent.
00:32:49
Prosecutor Matt Murphy had a problem. He had never dealt with a crime scene like
00:32:53
this before, and he knew very little about boats, but he knew someone who did. I'm not a 9to-5 guy. Salty Sam, aka Gary
00:33:04
Burns, a friend of Murphy's 6,000 miles away in Darwin, Australia. He's a character. He's lived on boats for
00:33:12
pretty much his whole life. Matt called Gary and described the shadowy outlines of the case.
00:33:18
[Music] I called Matt back and said, "A boat that size will probably have for sure
00:33:24
two anchors. Get your guys to go on board the boat. Count the anchors are on there."
00:33:31
Sure enough, just like Gary said, there was an anchor that should have been on the boat that wasn't.
00:33:39
Now, investigators had their theory. What they needed was an eyewitness, and Skyler provided one. His name is Alonzo
00:33:48
Machine. Alonso Machain. Skyler told police Alonso had been with him when he bought the boat and could back up his
00:33:57
story. But Skyler bet wrong on Alonzo. He is the only one in this investigation that that actually had a conscience. And
00:34:03
it was that guilty conscience eaten at him. After briefly fleeing to Mexico, Alonso
00:34:10
returned to Newport Beach and made a full confession about his involvement. I was able to uh cuff Mrs. Hawk. She
00:34:17
didn't even know what's going on and every horrific detail of the murders. Skyler was looking for Anchor to push
00:34:26
them over. What was Skyler acted? This is while they were being bound and tossed
00:34:31
overboard. was called like the most normal thing. Machain also told police about the
00:34:40
muscle for the murder. Gang member John Fitzgerald Kennedy. March 2005, Alonso, JFK, and mastermind Skyler Deleó are all
00:34:56
charged with the murders of Tom and Jackie Hawks. Jennifer Deleó told a local news crew
00:35:06
Skyler was innocent. Would your husband want to kill someone for their money? No, this is not him.
00:35:14
But Murphy and company weren't done yet. They had the alleged killers who had been on the
00:35:20
boat. Now it was time to focus on the one who dialed into the murder on a cell phone. They tie him up. He called
00:35:28
Jennifer. the time they were killed. He made a call to Jennifer. When they returning
00:35:33
back after throwing these four people off a boat, he made a call to Jennifer. What if they try and point the finger at
00:35:39
you and say you were involved? You have to be positive and hope that that wouldn't come to that and it
00:35:44
wouldn't take you away from your kids. 23-year-old Jennifer Deleó is now facing the same fate as her husband.
00:35:52
A month after her husband, Jennifer Deleó was also charged with firstdegree murder.
00:36:02
Thomas and Jackie Hawks were thrown overboard alive and begging for their lives. Matt Murphy was determined to get
00:36:09
justice for Tom and Jackie Hawks. is as ruthless and as dark and as cold-blooded
00:36:14
as any murder capable of being committed by another human being. This very well thoughtout
00:36:35
diabolical plot to do this. They thought they were going to get away with it because the bodies have
00:36:42
never and will never be recovered. The three defendants were charged with two counts of murder each. Prosecutor
00:36:50
Matt Murphy was working overtime preparing to bring Skyler DeLeon and his crew to justice. 23-year-old Jennifer
00:36:58
Deleó is now potentially facing the same fate as her husband. With Skyler his prime target, Murphy approached his wife
00:37:06
Jennifer with a deal. We offered her immunity. You basically gave her a full ride without any trouble. We offered her
00:37:12
a complete walk initially in the investigation and she said no. And she said no. Jennifer refused to testify
00:37:19
against her husband, but Skyler was willing to tell us about Jennifer. Whose idea was it to kill them? Yours or hers?
00:37:30
She threw it out there of what if they're not here? And you agreed. And I agreed. A young mother could spend the
00:37:38
rest of her life in prison. First to stand trial, Jennifer Deleó in less than four hours. And on November 17th,
00:37:46
2006, Jennifer is found guilty of first-degree murder and is sentenced to two life terms in a California
00:37:56
prison. Skyler would be tried next. What are your thoughts on him testifying? Not a chance.
00:38:04
That from Skyler's own attorney, Gary Pollson. And why is that? Because he's told so many lies. And it turns out Tom
00:38:12
and Jackie may not be Skyler's only victims. Who's JP Jarvy? John Jary. And who is he? Uh, he was a person that I
00:38:23
was at Seal Beach jail with. Did you kill him? That's Gary Pollson wouldn't let Skyler tell us
00:38:34
about this man, John Jary. Skyler targeted Jary a year before he met Tom and Jackie.
00:38:42
He conned John Jary into taking out $50,000 on his condo, told some sort of story that John Jary bought into and
00:38:51
convinced John Jary to accompany him down into Mexico. and he let him off down into a ravine and there Skyler
00:38:58
Deleó cut his throat. Skyler is charged with John Jaryy's murder, leaving no question that the con
00:39:08
man is also a coldblooded killer. Did you kill Tom and Jackie Hawks? Per I guess according to law and stuff
00:39:19
like that, yes. The answer is yes. Yes. The three killings are merged into one trial. I expect a pretty quick
00:39:29
verdict. And it didn't take long. And it's guilty, guilty, guilty. Skyler is convicted of the murders of
00:39:37
Tom and Jackie Hawks and John Jary. Other than his father. Now Gary Pollson was only fighting for one thing. Keeping
00:39:50
Skyler off death row. That's all I'm going for. But those who treasure the memory of Tom and Jackie had very
00:39:58
different ideas. Death. I'm hoping for the death penalty. If anybody deserves a death penalty, it's Skylar Deleó. Are
00:40:06
you afraid to die? No. Skyler's life hung in the balance. Yet, he was still blaming everyone but
00:40:17
himself. The feeling I'm getting from you is that you're this weasly little guy is trying to make his wife happy.
00:40:23
You concoct this big scheme and then you lost control of it. Yeah, kind of. That's the part that people will hold
00:40:35
you responsible for. Mhm. And the people did. On April 10th, 2009, Skyler Deleó is sentenced to death.
00:40:49
It wasn't a good feeling or exciting. It was sad because uh it was all over. My parents are still missing
00:40:57
and uh I'll never get a chance to bury him. Never get a chance to say goodbye and that bothers
00:41:09
me. In death, as in life, Tom and Jackie Hawks touched everyone they ever met. Ever since this thing started, every day
00:41:20
I look at the ocean and I say hi to Tom and Jackie. Every day I make a point of saying hello to them both. Do you think
00:41:25
you always will? Probably. Yeah. [Music] [Music] He la. [Music]