Yacht Buyer Is Suspected of Killing O.C. Pair

The retired Newport Beach couple who disappeared in November after selling their 55-foot yacht are believed to have been killed by the Long Beach man who bought it, an Orange County prosecutor said Friday.

The state stopped short of charging Skylar J. Deleon with murder, but Deputy Dist. Atty. Matt Murphy described him as “the main suspect in a double homicide out of Newport Beach.”

The prosecutor also revealed that Deleon, 25, is suspected of committing another, apparently unrelated, murder in 2003 in which an unidentified man’s throat was slashed.

Murphy said he suspects that Deleon killed Thomas and Jackie Hawks after they took him on a test ride in their boat, “Well Deserved,” on Nov. 15. The couple has not been seen since then, and Newport Beach police Friday expressed the belief that they are dead.

The disappearance captivated the yachting community of Newport Beach, where the couple spent time aboard their lavish vessel that was featured in a cruising magazine a year ago.

Murphy made the disclosure while asking a judge to hold Deleon on an unrelated grand-theft case. The statements in Orange County Superior Court in Newport Beach marked the first time that authorities have said they suspect Deleon of killing the Hawks.

“The people’s very strong position is he poses a substantial risk to the community,” Murphy told Judge Susanne S. Shaw. “We also believe he is a flight risk.”

Thomas Hawks, 57, a retired probation officer, and Jackie, 47, kept their yacht in Newport Beach while living in Arizona. They traveled to Newport Beach to show the boat to Deleon on Nov. 15. The yacht, which Deleon told investigators he bought for $400,000 cash, was returned to its berth that night, but the couple disappeared. On Nov. 28, relatives reported them missing.

Murphy did not tell the judge what evidence led him to suspect that Deleon killed the couple and offered few details of the third killing, which he said was related to the grand-theft charge.

Deleon, jailed in that case, has not been charged in the apparent homicides. No bail has been set.

Newport Beach police Sgt. Steve Shulman confirmed Friday that police suspect Deleon killed the Arizona couple. He said his department also was investigating the third homicide.

Deleon, jailed since December, is charged with failing to pay $7,000 for repairs to a boat in 2003. His lawyer, Edward Welbourn, said he was prepared to discuss a plea bargain to that charge Friday when Murphy unexpectedly named his client as a murder suspect.

The judge postponed the case until March 11. Welbourn said he knew nothing about the murder allegations.

Deleon’s wife, Jennifer, initially cooperated with police but now believes she is being investigated in the Hawkses’ disappearance, her lawyer said.

“She knows she’s being looked at,” Michael Molfetta said. “She’s not going anywhere.”

Relatives of the Hawkses, meanwhile, said they were not surprised by Friday’s developments. “He was the last person to have contact with them,” said Dixie Hawks, Thomas’ former wife. “We never knew what happened after that. Whoever was involved in their disappearance, we truly just want justice.”

Gayle O’Neill, Jackie’s mother, said in a telephone interview from her home in Concord, Ohio, that she has long suspected Deleon. “I know my daughter and son-in-law well enough to know that they wouldn’t be gone this long without getting in touch with someone,” she said.

*

Times staff writer Mai Tran contributed to this report.