Convicted in Plot to Kill Couple for Yacht Sentenced to Life Terms

[TaoJones]

From today's Los Angeles Times:

(Edit: Please be advised - the unfortunate juxtaposition of the headline and the picture might lead some to think they're seeing a picture of the perp. It is not. The person pictured is the son of the victims.)

* * *

"Orange County jury orders death for yacht owners' killer

Christine Cotter . Los Angeles Times

Ryan Hawks, 32, center, testified in the penalty phase about the killing of his parents, Tom and Jackie Hawks.

"In 2004, Skylar Deleon tied an anchor to a Newport Beach couple and tossed them overboard.

By My-Thuan Tran
November 7, 2008

"A Santa Ana jury Thursday voted for the death penalty for a 29-year-old man convicted of three murders, including those of a Newport Beach couple who were lashed to the anchor of their yacht and thrown into the ocean."

* * *

For the rest of the story, go to:

Orange County jury orders death for yacht owners' killer - Los Angeles Times

TaoJones

[svHyLyte]

Disgusting. They should chain this guy, his wife and their accomplis to anchors and drop them all in the ocean. Knowing the Peoples Republic of California, this guy has a greater likelihood of dying of old age than by execution.

[TaoJones]

The trial of the final person allegedly involved in the cold-blooded murders of Jackie and Tom Hawks is nearing its end. Here's an update from today's 'Lectronic Latitude:

* * *

"Third Hawks Murder Trial Winding Down

"February 11, 2009 – Santa Ana

"John Kennedy just can't remember what he did on the day Tom and Jackie Hawks disappeared.
Photo Courtesy Orange County Sheriff's Dept.
© 2009 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.

"The trial of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 43, the third person to face a jury for the 2004 murders of Mexico cruisers Tom and Jackie Hawks, is expected to conclude this week, after three weeks of testimony."

* * *

For the rest of the story, go to:

Latitude 38 - The West's Premier Sailing & Marine Magazine

TaoJones

[oceansoul63]

These scumbags should be burned at the stake.

[GordMay]

See also the Thomas and Jackie Hawks website:
Tom and Jackie Hawks | Official News Site

Jennifer Henderson, 27, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in 2006 and is serving life without parole for her role in putting the Hawkses at ease by pretending to be interested with her husband in buying the yacht.

Skylar Deleon, Henderson's husband, was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder in November and is awaiting a death sentence on March 20 for being the mastermind behind the plot.
Deleon, 29, was also convicted of the throat-slashing death of Jon Peter Jarvi, of Anaheim, in a separate murder-for-money plot on a Mexican highway in Dec. 27, 2003.

[Dave the Canuck]

Originally Posted by oceansoul63

These scumbags should be burned at the stake.

I'm thinking something along the lines of the final scene in "Braveheart".

[Celestialsailor]

I'm still trying to figure out how these type of people make it into their late 20's or early 30's without getting into trouble earlier. I mean do they just wake up one morning and decide to do something as hennas as this? Now a days you just cannot take chances. If you are taking a stranger out on your boat, you need to file a boat plan and let the people you're with know that. I can't figure out any other way of doing it. We really need to watch out for one another.

[TaoJones]

The third person to face murder charges in the Hawks case (see post #33, above) was convicted today of the crime. For the Los Angeles Times story, go to:

Gang member convicted in Newport Beach yacht killings - Los Angeles Times

TaoJones

[GordMay]

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was convicted Thursday of two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances in the 2004 deaths of Tom and Jackie Hawks somewhere off the coast.

Opening statements in the death penalty phase of the trial will begin next week in Orange County Superior Court.

Two other co-defendants (Myron Gardner, & Machain ?) are expected to stand trial next month.

[Southern Star]

Thanks for the update Tao and Gord - great news!

Brad

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Two other co-defendants (Myron Gardner, & Machain ?) are expected to stand trial next month.

Actually, Gord, there will be no trial, as such, for defendants Gardner and Machain. They were cooperating witnesses for the prosecution - were, in fact, the star witnesses who provided the necessary factual background for the prosecution to go to trial with complete knowledge of what occurred, how it was planned, who did what, etc.

Machain and Gardner had chosen to cooperate so that they might be spared the death penalty. Now that Kennedy has been convicted (and is eligible for the death penalty for the special circumstance of participating in the crime for monetary gain), all that remains is the penalty phase for Kennedy, then formal sentencing for Machain and Gardner.

Earlier in this thread, Celestial Sailor had stated that he was still trying to figure out how these criminals could get into their 20s and 30s without having previously gotten into trouble. Of the five conspirators, only Machain (now 25, I believe) had a clean record.

It was while he was working as a 19- or 20-year-old guard at a pay-to-stay jail in Seal Beach that he first met Deleon, who was serving a "county lid." (That is, he was serving one year for burglary, and his time would have been reduced to 2/3 - eight months - for good behavior. In California, for any sentence greater than one year, the time must be served in a state prison.)

Kennedy and Gardner were long-time members of the Insane Crips street gang in Long Beach. When Deleon decided he needed some serious "muscle" to help subdue Tom Hawks (a former probation officer who still worked out regularly and was exceptionally fit at 57), he contacted Gardner. When the person Gardner had recruited failed to show up as they all met prior to going to the Hawks' vessel, Gardner pulled Kennedy into the conspiracy as a last-minute substitute. Gardner, himself, did not accompany the others to the Hawks' vessel.

More than likely, Kennedy will receive the death penalty for his part in the crime. Once that is determined, Gardner and Machain will be formally sentenced, more than likely, to life terms without the possibility of parole.

As a guard at the Seal Beach jail, Machain met Deleon and became a fan. Here's how the Orange County Register reported it:

"In 2003, Machain met a confident, glib-talking and charismatic inmate named Skylar Deleon, who was serving a one-year term in the work furlough program in Seal Beach for burglary.

"Deleon was full of money-making ideas, and Machain was all ears.

"Soon, Machain was doing Deleon favors, like that day in December 2003 when he checked Deleon into his cell past curfew. Authorities believe that was the day Deleon killed Jon Peter Jarvi, a former jail inmate, in Mexico after duping Jarvi into handing over $50,000 in cash." (1)

So, though Machain had a clean record and was probably headed for a fall at some point regardless, it's a pity for him that he was so weak-willed and that he ever crossed paths with Deleon.

TaoJones

(1) Defendant: Alonso Machain | hawks, deleon, newport, jail, yacht - News - OCRegister.com

And here's the background information on Gardner:

Defendant: Myron Gardner | gardner, deleon, beach, gang, charged - News - OCRegister.com

[GordMay]

Thanks for shedding more light on the story.

[SabreKai]

Give them a pair of cement overshoes and put them out at low tide about a week before spring high tide. Calculate it so they will be underwater to head top level on the day of the highest tide. Let them enjoy it for a while. A short while

Sabre

[TaoJones]

Today, the "mastermind" behind this gruesome crime was formally sentenced to death. Here's a link to the story from the Los Angeles Times:

Skylar Deleon gets death sentence in Newport Beach yacht murders | L.A. Now | Los Angeles Times

TaoJones

[Unicorn Dreams]

WELL, the death sentence in Ca. means that he will die of old age in 40 or 50 years. Along with medical care and a gym. And all the drugs he can buy...