Inside the Evidence: How Prosecutors Convicted John Julius Jacobson Jr. in the Yacht Murders

Read expert perspectives surrounding Inside the Evidence: How Prosecutors Convicted John Julius Jacobson Jr. in the Yacht Murders.

Born in California in 1979, John Julius Jacobson Jr. entered adulthood drifting between broken aspirations and heavy debt. Jacobson had made a fleeting appearance as an uncredited child actor on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in the mid-1990s, an association he later exaggerated to project wealth and industry connections. After entering the U.S. Navy and abruptly going unauthorized absent (AWOL), Jacobson legally shed his birth name, adopting the moniker Skylar Julius Deleon. By 2004, drowning under tens of thousands of dollars in credit obligations and living in Long Beach with pregnant wife Jennifer Henderson, Deleon needed cash fast.

Tom and Jackie Hawks represented the opposite end of discipline. Tom had spent decades working as a commercial diver and correctional officer, while Jackie managed their personal affairs. The couple lived full-time aboard the Well-Deserved at Newport Beach harbor, having sailed the vessel across the Gulf of California. When Deleon arrived pretending to carry bags of cash for an outright purchase, the Hawkses cautiously permitted a private harbor sea trial to finalize terms.