Posted on 08/17/2005 3:54:57 PM PDT by billorites
A former child actor and his wife were ordered to stand trial Tuesday for the murder of a wealthy California couple who, prosecutors say, were tied to the anchor of their yacht and thrown overboard alive, never to be seen again.
Orange County Superior Court Judge John Conley ordered 26-year-old Skylar Deleon, who once starred in the "Power Rangers" TV series, and his wife, 24-year-old Jennifer Henderson Deleon, to stand trial for the murders after a two-day preliminary hearing in Santa Ana, south of Los Angeles.
Also bound over for trial in the case, which baffled police for months as they searched for the missing couple, were a member of the Crips street gang and a prison guard who are accused of helping carry out a conspiracy to steal the 55-foot luxury yacht "Well Deserved."
"It's haunting to think these nice, loving people were trying to hold their breaths as they sank to the bottom of the ocean," Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy said during the hearing. "This is as cold-blooded as it gets."
Prosecutors say Deleon came up with the plot after spotting the yacht for sale in a boating magazine last November and meeting owners Thomas Hawks, 57, and his 47-year-old wife Jackie.
He is accused of enlisting the help of 40-year-old gang member John Fitzgerald Kennedy and ex-jailer Alonso Machain, 21, to carry out the murder on November 15, 2004. Machain has since confessed to police and will be tried separately.
Attorneys for the Deleons rejected the charges and during the hearing attacked the credibility of Machain, who is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution.
A police detective testified during the hearing that Deleon and his then-pregnant wife posed as interested buyers and convinced the Hawks to take the yacht on a test run.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
What?
A former Power Ranger?
He'll get off for sure in a Kalifornia court!
LOL!
He should have found a gang member named Edward Kennedy.
He's better at drowning people and getting away scot free.
I had never heard about this before today. What an absolutely cold blooded, evil thing to do.
They needed killing!
The victims.
Sick puppies, dude.
Yes, one of them. He's the former Power Ranger.
I don't think he "starred" in the show. I think he was an (uncredited) extra. There is a huge difference, though probably one which will be lost on the California jury.
Was this the case that Greta Van Susteren was following for a short while last year before she got enmeshed in other matters (Michael Jackson et al)?
How absolutely horrible !That pitiful couple who were killed.The greed of some people. So sad..... that it had to happend where it will be tried in " it's all right to murder your wife and molest little boys" state of California.
he's lucky it's in LA - in some places murder is a punishable crime
Don't see a Deleon in the credits.
thrown overboard alive with anchor (shudder)
His defense attorney better work to get him on that list!
You gotta call my lawyer!
This is so friggin' evil.
Lot's of that out there.
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