Inmate Friends See a Jennifer Deleon Very Different from Prosecution's Portrayal
tiny dancer
Portrayal
By Tori Richards
SANTA ANA, Calif. (Crime Library) — Jennifer Deleon may have been convicted
of a horrific double murder, but to her friends inside the Orange County
Jail she's one of the sweetest people imaginable.
"I don't mean any disrespect to the murdered couple's family, but I was in
the OC women's jail with Jennifer and she's not the monster everyone has
portrayed her as," said one of her friends who wants to be identified as
Lisa.
Jurors deliberated just 3-1/2 hours Friday before convicting Deleon, 25, of
murdering Thomas and Jackie Hawks for financial gain. The retired couple was
tied to the anchor of their yacht and thrown overboard alive during a cruise
off the coast of Southern California in 2004. Their bodies were never found.
Deleon's husband, one-time child actor Skylar Deleon, 27, is also charged in
this plot and will go to trial next year. In addition, he's charged with
another murder that happened a year earlier and conspiring from behind bars
to murder two witnesses — including his father. If convicted, he could face
the death penalty.
Jennifer was not on the boat when the Hawkses were killed, but she helped
hatch the plot which makes her just as guilty, according to California law.
But if you ask her friends and family, they'll say Jennifer was manipulated
by Skylar and feared him.
"She's a young mother who is as much Skylar's victim as everyone that was
murdered by him," Lisa said. "She is afraid of him and wants no contact with
him whatsoever for her and her two babies."
The pair posed as potential buyers for the Hawkses 55-foot yacht, claiming
to have money from real estate investments. Authorities say Thomas Hawks, a
retired probation officer, would have been skeptical because of their age
and not apt to trust taking Skylar out to sea with two friends if it weren't
for Jennifer.
According to testimony during the trial, the Deleons checked out the yacht
while it was docked in Newport Beach. Jennifer was pregnant and had her
infant daughter along.
"If she did know (which I doubt), she was probably afraid to be next," Lisa
said. "She's embarrassed to be associated with him and even goes as far as
calling him SD — sperm donor."
At first, Jennifer wasn't charged with the crime and she religiously visited
Skylar in jail. Then when she too found herself behind bars the pair wrote
love letters to each other and exchanged loving looks during court
appearances. Jennifer even had her wedding picture with her in jail.
Some time during the summer she cut off contact with him and filed for
divorce. Orange County Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy said it was just
a ploy to separate herself from him as a defense in the upcoming trial; her
attorney Michael Molfetta said she has genuinely spurned him and feels
victimized.
Lisa said Jennifer never spoke lovingly of Skylar and changed the subject
whenever his name was brought up. She talked about her children instead and
how excited she was when her mother brought them to visit.
"She said all Skylar did was put her down," Lisa said.
To pass the time, Jennifer — who is a licensed beautician — works in the
jail cutting hair for other inmates. She also takes classes and cleans the
dorm room where she's incarcerated. Each inmate has a cleaning chore to do,
but sometimes Jennifer will finish the chores of others. She gets more mail
than any other inmate, sometimes three letters a day. And she constantly
sends back letters to her children that include pictures she has drawn and
colored.
"She is very well respected by the guards and other inmates," Lisa said.
"She is like the wholesome girl next door. She is such a good person, when I
first heard about her case, I thought 'no way.'"
Jennifer talks constantly about her children but doesn't open up regarding
her feelings or marriage to very many people, Lisa said. She's pretty shy
and reserved and didn't appear to be the controlling, dominant spouse
portrayed by the prosecution.
According to Murphy, Jennifer was the brains behind the murder plot and
handled the couples' money. She arraigned to have a phony bill of sale
notarized and tried to access the Hawks' bank account after the murders.
"She might as well have pushed them off the boat herself," Murphy said.
Whatever happened, it's safe to say she regrets getting mixed up with
Skylar, Lisa said.
"She got a letter from him and didn't want to open it," she said. "I think
she is scared of him and scared of what he is capable of doing."
Her defense attorney Molfetta said: "She fell in love with a guy who is an
incredible manipulator. She feels incredibly stupid for ever falling in love
with him."
http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/1106/2101_hawks_deleon3.html
Bo Raxo
tiny dancer wrote:
>
> "I don't mean any disrespect to the murdered couple's family, but I was in
> the OC women's jail with Jennifer and she's not the monster everyone has
> portrayed her as," said one of her friends who wants to be identified as
> Lisa.
>
>
Nobody portrayed her as a monster, Lisa, just as a con artist.
>
> Deleon's husband, one-time child actor Skylar Deleon, 27, is also charged in
> this plot and will go to trial next year. In addition, he's charged with
> another murder that happened a year earlier and conspiring from behind bars
> to murder two witnesses - including his father. If convicted, he could face
> the death penalty.
>
While I am against the death penalty, it's criminals like Deleon who
make the best argument for it. Not the horrific crimes against
children that usually get people so worked up, but people like Deleon
who continue to hatch murder plots while behind bars and attempt to
thwart the people's chance at a fair trial.
>
> But if you ask her friends and family, they'll say Jennifer was manipulated
> by Skylar and feared him.
>
Except she never seemed to fear him until she was arrested. Funny how
that works.
> "She's a young mother who is as much Skylar's victim as everyone that was
> murdered by him," Lisa said.
Yeah, except for her not being dead and all.
>
>
> The pair posed as potential buyers for the Hawkses 55-foot yacht, claiming
> to have money from real estate investments. Authorities say Thomas Hawks, a
> retired probation officer, would have been skeptical because of their age
> and not apt to trust taking Skylar out to sea with two friends if it weren't
> for Jennifer.
>
The Hawks were idiots, double so given the husband's occupational
background. Too cheap to use a broker to sell the boat, too cheap to
pay for a background check on their potential buyers, too stupid bring
a few of their friends along.
It makes the crime no less heinous, but let's point out how the many
bad decisions of the victims contributed to their fate.
>
> "If she did know (which I doubt), she was probably afraid to be next," Lisa
> said.
*If* she knew? Uh, did she think they really had the money to buy that
yacht? Sheesh.
>
>
> At first, Jennifer wasn't charged with the crime and she religiously visited
> Skylar in jail. Then when she too found herself behind bars the pair wrote
> love letters to each other and exchanged loving looks during court
> appearances. Jennifer even had her wedding picture with her in jail.
>
Yeah, sounds terrified of him. What a con artist, she can practice her
skills for the rest of her life on her fellow inmates.
Thanks for the article Tiny, best laugh I've had all week.
Bo Raxo
Pigeon Hohl
"Bo Raxo" <fore...@earthcorp.com> wrote:
> The Hawks were idiots, double so given the husband's occupational
> background. Too cheap to use a broker to sell the boat, too cheap to
> pay for a background check on their potential buyers, too stupid bring
> a few of their friends along.
>
> It makes the crime no less heinous, but let's point out how the many
> bad decisions of the victims contributed to their fate.
I don't know if I'd call them idiots (out of respect for the survivors),
but the part that really got me was how the Hawks apparently bought the
ludicrous notion that the Kennedy guy was Deleon's "accountant".
Kennedy has been described as a "hard-core gang member" (Crips),
and one would assume that there's a fair chance that he might speak in
a somewhat less than educated manner, to put it mildly.
The hawks naivete is truly astonishing - Jennifer's charming, bouncing
baby notwithstanding...
Pigeon
scalf...@gmail.com
bennyf...@gmail.com
walshs...@gmail.com
My name is Seamus Walsh, I live in Ireland and I'm a Masters Graduate in Applied Christian Spiritually.
Was just wondering would Jennifer reply to me if I wrote her? I've no agenda of religious persuasion or any untoward negative attention.
My area is spiritual accompanying and allowing the person to emerge from within.
I can elaborate should you need me to?
Shay
foxd...@hotmail.com
> Inmate Friends See a Jennifer Deleon Very Different from Prosecution's
> Portrayal
>
>
> By Tori Richards
>
> Jail she's one of the sweetest people imaginable.
>
> "I don't mean any disrespect to the murdered couple's family, but I was in
> the OC women's jail with Jennifer and she's not the monster everyone has
> portrayed her as," said one of her friends who wants to be identified as
> Lisa.
>
>
>
>
> Jurors deliberated just 3-1/2 hours Friday before convicting Deleon, 25, of
> murdering Thomas and Jackie Hawks for financial gain. The retired couple was
> tied to the anchor of their yacht and thrown overboard alive during a cruise
> off the coast of Southern California in 2004. Their bodies were never found.
>
> Deleon's husband, one-time child actor Skylar Deleon, 27, is also charged in
> this plot and will go to trial next year. In addition, he's charged with
> another murder that happened a year earlier and conspiring from behind bars
>
>
>
>
> Jennifer was not on the boat when the Hawkses were killed, but she helped
> hatch the plot which makes her just as guilty, according to California law.
>
> But if you ask her friends and family, they'll say Jennifer was manipulated
> by Skylar and feared him.
>
> "She's a young mother who is as much Skylar's victim as everyone that was
> murdered by him," Lisa said. "She is afraid of him and wants no contact with
> him whatsoever for her and her two babies."
>
>
>
>
> The pair posed as potential buyers for the Hawkses 55-foot yacht, claiming
> to have money from real estate investments. Authorities say Thomas Hawks, a
> retired probation officer, would have been skeptical because of their age
> and not apt to trust taking Skylar out to sea with two friends if it weren't
> for Jennifer.
>
> According to testimony during the trial, the Deleons checked out the yacht
> while it was docked in Newport Beach. Jennifer was pregnant and had her
> infant daughter along.
>
> "If she did know (which I doubt), she was probably afraid to be next," Lisa
> said. "She's embarrassed to be associated with him and even goes as far as
>
>
> At first, Jennifer wasn't charged with the crime and she religiously visited
> Skylar in jail. Then when she too found herself behind bars the pair wrote
> love letters to each other and exchanged loving looks during court
> appearances. Jennifer even had her wedding picture with her in jail.
>
> Some time during the summer she cut off contact with him and filed for
> divorce. Orange County Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy said it was just
> a ploy to separate herself from him as a defense in the upcoming trial; her
> attorney Michael Molfetta said she has genuinely spurned him and feels
> victimized.
>
> Lisa said Jennifer never spoke lovingly of Skylar and changed the subject
> whenever his name was brought up. She talked about her children instead and
> how excited she was when her mother brought them to visit.
>
> "She said all Skylar did was put her down," Lisa said.
>
>
>
>
Even in the end the hawks tried to leave clues such as signing one of the documents as 'Hawk" rather than Hawks. A couple of minor changes could have prevented this from ever occurring. The Hawks doubted their young buyers potential in the beginning, however changed their minds when seeing a pregnant wife with a child which does not determine any possibility of the creditworthiness of the young buyers. Syler should have been investigated by the Hawks with a social security number and drivers license for a background check which would have revealed his prior prison record and the fact he had no money to buy a boat. If Jenifer was not involved in the premeditation process or conspiracy and only involved after the fact, she should have received a much lighter sentence for her part. Nevertheless, a tragic event and the three that were on the boat and actually committed the crime and the special circumstances involved deserved everything they got. For testimony against two defendants which secured the outcome of the case, 20 years is still a pretty stiff sentence. In the end what happened to the victims is as heinous as it gets and death is what the defendants deserve, although it is not likely either one ill ever see the needle.
alamanda...@gmail.com
alamanda...@gmail.com
ricci....@yahoo.com
I am going through a trauma of my own
My twin brother, Alfred Ricci, who was never a criminal. He had a few DUIs under his belt.
He was never violent, is involved in a kidnapping/murder trial. May 28th 2017, will be three years, he will be in jail, awaiting the trial of Robertson>Feeney,Morrison,Ricci
He was manipulated by his Drug dealer, Feeney
Another man Scott was also manipulated.
The mastermind of this offense, Jamie Feeney talked a friend, Mike Schoener, who was a Dedham, Ma Policeman, into getting him'illegally' the records, badge and handcuffs for my brother and his friend Scott, to portray themselves as
Correctional officer's, to get the victim in the car and bring him to the drug dealer, on NEW YEARS DAY 2014.
They went to the victims home, James Robertson and they stated that he needed to take a urine test, for probation purposes.
They had the documents in their hand
They had a badge and handcuffs dangling from their pocket
They looked like real C.O.s
They would not of been able to pull this off without the policeman's supplies.
The policeman involved has been walking the streets since all involved got arrested .
The dealer 500,000 cash bail
My brother and his friend Scott 200,000 cash bail The policeman 5000 cash bail
Something wrong with this picture YES
What a political slap across the victims families face, to let the 'Cop' out less than 24 hours later.
I've heard from a few people, the parents were home, everybody knows the courts are closed on New Year's Day.
Why would they believe these 2 Correctional officer's . Why did the victim believe them knowing the courts are closed on legal holidays.
The problem I believe is:
They had legal documentation to show and we are intimidated by people with badges because this is what is instilled in us
Half the people w badges are worse than people without badges.
James Feeney is a master manipulator, just like Skyler DeLeon this has nothing to do with the victims being idiots. They had a horrific death and so did James Robertson.
My twin brother, Alfred Ricci, has always been a follower and these evil monsters, know their victims, they can use to pull off their crime.
We had a very hard life, probably worse than Skyler DeLeon.
There is no excuse for his actions.
My heart goes out to the Hawks family, just the same as the Robertsons family.
I have been completely heartbroken.
The rug was pulled out from underneath my feet My heart will never be the same.
I am mulling over writing a book after the trial.
-Alicia
