Yacht Killer Guilty on All Counts

Former child actor may now be sentenced to death

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 21, 2008 4:42 AM CDT

(Newser) – A former bit-part child actor has been found guilty of murdering a couple by tying them to an anchor and throwing them overboard off the California coast in a plot to steal their yacht, the Orange County Register reports. The jury must now decide if Skylar Deleon, also found guilty of cutting a man's throat in an unrelated murder, should get the death penalty or a life sentence.

"My family has been waiting for 4 years to hear those words,” said the couple's son after the guilty verdict. “It’s done. Now let’s get on to the penalty phase. This was just a warm-up.” Deleon's lawyer did not contest the overwhelming evidence, but he plans to argue that his client should be spared execution because of his "horrific childhood.”

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Jackie and Tom Hawks were handcuffed to an anchor and shoved overboard four years ago so their killer could steal their yacht. (AP Photo/Courtesy Ryan Hawks)

The son of the murdered couple, Ryan Hawks, poses on the deck of his home overlooking the Pacific Ocean last month. Skylar Deleon has been found guilty of murdering his father and stepmother at sea. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

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We're only half way there. We would be very disappointed if he doesn't get the death penalty. - Jeff Jarvi, brother of a man Skylar Deleon murdered after swindling him for $50,000

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Yacht Killer Guilty on All Counts